Of Bandages and Bruises
by orangana
Summary: They really have to stop meeting like this or people might start to think the injuries are not accidental. As Crime Sorciere hunts down a growing threat, Lucy and Cobra are drawn together by a series of unfortunate events. Bound in a way neither expected, they are forced to face darkness from outside sources and within their own souls as their connection grows deeper.
1. Chapter 1

The comforting smell of warm chocolate filled the air in Lucy's apartment, making the blonde eager to finish her bath. Perfection couldn't be rushed, though, and a perfect evening required a long soak in a warm tub. The water temperature was just right and the fizzing bath salts in soothing lavender scent had the blonde feeling more relaxed than she had in ages. Losing herself in a good romance/adventure novel made the experience utterly blissful. The book wasn't terribly long, so maybe she'd be able to finish the entire thing in one night.

When the water started to cool and her fingers were nice and prune-like, Lucy stood from the tub and toweled off. Her hair was still mostly dry in its bun on top of her head, so she just dropped the towel in the floor when she was done drying her body. Who cares if leaving towels in the floor wasn't something she'd normally do? Tonight was not about cleaning or keeping up appearances. It was all about doing her own thing while relaxing and if walking into the kitchen as naked as the day she was born to snag a brownie seemed like a great idea, she was going to do it. The full pan of cooling brownies, minus the small square she'd cut off as soon as it came out of the oven, was calling her name. The vanilla ice cream was still a little too hard to properly scoop, so she left it out on the counter to thaw for a bit while she got dressed.

With a brownie in hand, the blonde made her way back to her room to get dressed in a set of adorable, comfy pajamas she'd never dare wear in front of her teammates. Luckily, tonight she didn't have to worry about them popping up. It would be a night she spent in peaceful solitude. Since finding out everyone had plans that evening, she made sure none of them found out she had no plans at all. One of them, or maybe all of them, would invite her to go with them in a way that didn't allow her to say no.

Natsu and Gray wouldn't be popping up because they were out on a self-appointed mission. The pair thought they were clever, but Lucy knew her friends too well for them to fool her. Their 'mission' wasn't one that had been found on the request board and consisted solely of them attempting to convince Lisanna to join them in a threesome. Unfortunately for Lucy's eyes, she had walked in on her two male teammates in a sweaty, lusty embrace a few weeks ago. It was a traumatizing experience she couldn't bleach from her memory. They were like family to her and there were some things family members weren't meant to witness each other doing. The following day had been a little awkward, but they all got over it quickly and things went back to normal. As long as they didn't try to pull her into their escapades, she wouldn't spill their secret to anyone.

Even Erza wouldn't be showing up demanding her fair – completely unfair – share of more than half the sweets. The warrior-woman planned to polish her entire collection of weapons in one night, a feat that would take many, many hours. As long as Lucy's night alone remained a secret, Erza wouldn't be pounding on her door in a completely unnecessary attempt to save her blonde sister from loneliness. The last menace, Happy, had his own plans to woo Carla. Wendy would be with the exceeds since Carla refused to be left alone with Happy, leaving Lucy blissfully alone all evening.

Nothing short of a natural disaster could ruin Lucy's night of freedom.

Lucy had just pulled on her favorite celestial-themed pajama shorts when she heard her front door slam open into the wall, followed by a grunt and thud coming from the direction of the kitchen. Grumbling profanities under her breath, Lucy grabbed her hairbrush before leaving the bathroom, intent on leaving many brush shaped bruises on whichever teammate decided to interrupt her alone time. The idiot that just broke into her apartment had better not be touching her brownies or they might not have ten fingers by the time they escaped her wrath.

The sight that greeted her was not one she expected. Several thoughts whirled through her mind in the two seconds it took for her come to the most important conclusion: She would not be spending the night alone binging on sugar.

"Well, shit."

Cobra turned at the sound of the Celestial Mage's voice and did his best not to show his amusement at the brush-wielding woman dressed in children's pajamas. He knew of her plans for the night due to her inner ramblings on the subject, but didn't have time to deal with any of that. "If you're done gawking, he could use some first aid."

Lucy's attention was diverted to the person lying on her table. The table that was formerly clean and blood free. The table she normally ate off of. Looks like she'd be buying a new table. Her brow furrowed as she stepped closer to examine the unconscious figure. Whoever it was looked terrible. Clearly they'd been hit with some powerful magic, maybe even a pointy weapon or two. Their outfit was torn and blood soaked. Blood loss made their familiar-looking face appear washed out, though whatever brand of lipstick the person used was some quality stuff to still be intact and smudge-free. If they lived through this, she'd have to find out where they bought it.

A snort escaped Cobra when he heard the lipstick comment, the sound drawing Lucy's attention back to him. When she looked at the questionably reformed ex-con, she suddenly realized the identity of the man on her table. Her head snapped back to look at the dying man, Midnight, or Macbeth, whatever he was going by now. Of all the places for the two of them to end up, why did they pick her apartment? And why tonight? Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?

Sighing in frustration, Lucy closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. The delicious, mouthwatering brownies were tempting her to ignore Cobra's very rude request for help, but she knew she wouldn't be able to fully enjoy her treat with the Reflector Mage bleeding out on her table. Pointing towards the sink, she said, "The first aid kit is under the sink on the left side. Run some hot water in a bowl and I'll go get some towels."

Not liking being ordered around but knowing he needed to play nice to get help, Cobra reined in the urge to poison the wench and headed into her kitchen. The first aid kit was exactly where she said it would be and a bowl was easy enough to find. While completing his assigned task of filling the bowl with hot water, Cobra focused on Lucy's soul to make sure she wouldn't be calling any of her guildmates over to help. He wasn't afraid of them, not even the fire breathing nuisance. He just didn't want to deal with the wild idiots. Cobra had brought Midnight to Magnolia at Jellal's request, but he didn't plan to follow his leader's order in its entirety. Jellal may have felt Fairy Tail was Midnight's best hope for recovery, but Cobra didn't trust those imbeciles to care for his comrade. Once he'd made it into the city, Cobra had picked up on the Celestial Mage's scent and followed it here. Though he hadn't ever had a conversation with her, he'd heard enough from her soul during previous encounters to know she wouldn't turn them away.

Lucy returned to the kitchen and dumped the towels she'd gathered in one of the chairs. Another cursory glance at the injured man confirmed her earlier thought that this was out of her league. His skin was deathly pale, more than it usually was with his makeup. So much blood soaked his clothes that it was pooling around him on the table, making her briefly wonder how much was actually left in his body. Someone with healing magic would be much better suited for this job. Lucy knew a bit of first aid, she was on the most destructive team in Fairy Tail after all, but she wasn't confident she'd be of much help in this situation. Why had Cobra brought him here?

As gingerly as possible, Lucy cut away Midnight's shirt with the shears she'd had the foresight to grab from the bathroom. She felt the intensity of Cobra's gaze but was doing her best to ignore the scrutiny. It wasn't like she planned to hurt the injured man even further.

Lucy couldn't stifle her shocked gasp with she saw the damage done to Midnight's chest. The deep gash looked like something out of a horror movie. Dark blood and fleshy bits that should never see the light of day were showing in the wound that was at least six inches long. This clearly wasn't something she could do much for. No, someone with actual healing abilities would need to treat the wound soon if Midnight was going to survive.

Cobra froze in his spot on the other side of the table after hearing Lucy's thoughts. She was right. It didn't make sense for him to bring a heavily injured person to a Celestial Mage. Now he doubted his decision to bring Midnight to Lucy and wondered if maybe he should have just followed Jellal's orders. At least the little dragon slayer could have used her healing magic on him if they were at the guildhall, but Cobra had ignored the orders and followed his instincts. He couldn't explain the pull he felt to come here but it seemed like the best idea.

"I need that." Lucy nodded her head towards the bowl Cobra was holding, spurring him to move from the spot he was standing in uselessly on the other side of his injured friend. She understood he was afraid, but he could be more helpful. Not to mention he was holding onto the water she needed.

"Why are you helping him?" Cobra asked as he set the water bowl down in another chair next to Lucy. He knew it was a little ridiculous to ask her why she was helping after he'd already demanded she do so, but he found himself curious.

She spared Cobra a quick glance, surprised by his question. "A better question would be why wouldn't I help him? It's been a long time since the clock fiasco and I'm past it. He needs help, so I'm helping." As she spoke, she turned her gaze back to the task at hand, wetting one of the towels and wiping away the blood drying to Midnight's skin. The cut was deep enough that she was worried about injuring Midnight further by cleaning it. What if touching it caused him to get an infection or made him start bleeding heavily again? Blood wasn't pouring from the wound anymore, mostly just oozing a little, but she didn't want to irritate it. She had no idea how to properly care for something like this.

Cobra turned away to rummage aimlessly through the first aid kit to hide his shock at her easy acceptance of the situation. It didn't make sense to him, but he was glad he brought Midnight to Lucy. Cobra wasn't sure anyone else would have helped without questioning the situation first.

Lucy's voice brought Cobra out of his musings as she said, "Can you go get my keys? They'll be in the bathroom on the counter. I should have grabbed them while I was there. I need Virgo's help."

Though he'd never seen Virgo, Cobra got a vivid image of the pink haired spirit from Lucy's thoughts. He nearly told her not to summon the spirit but decided against it when Lucy's soul provided him with memories of times in the past when Virgo had patched up her teammates. The spirit probably had more first aid experience. It didn't take him long to figure out where the bathroom was and return with the keys. As soon as the key ring touched her palm, Lucy found the key she needed without looking and wordlessly summoned the maid spirit.

A flurry of golden sparkles announced the spirit's arrival. A pink haired maid identical to the image he'd gotten from Lucy's memories spoke, "Punishment, Princess?" Cobra flinched at the overwhelmingly disturbing thoughts coming from the spirit with this question. He immediately listened in on Lucy to see if they were into some weird BDSM shit, but the blonde's thoughts were innocent.

It was clear to Cobra that Lucy didn't realize how serious the maid's question was as she said, "Not today, Virgo. Can you stitch this up? This is more than I'm capable of."

"Of course, Princess."

The spirit took over stitching up Midnight with the supplies from the first aid kit while Lucy did her best to clean up the unconscious mage. He'd lost so much blood that it took a lot of time and every towel she owned to get his upper body even remotely clean. Unless Virgo could work some serious magic on the towels, they would be in the trash alongside the table. His pants were also blood soaked but Lucy didn't want to try cleaning his lower half unless it was absolutely necessary and things didn't seem to be at that point. Maybe he'd wake up tomorrow and take off his own pants or she could just ask Cobra to take care of that part later.

Cobra stood off to the side, again feeling useless, while he listened in on Lucy's soul. Gone were her thoughts on the alone time she'd been so excited about. Instead, her thoughts were filled with compassion for Midnight and curiosity on who could have managed to strike a Reflector Mage. Her earlier irritation seemed to be completely gone as well. She wanted to ask what had happened but understood the secrecy of Crime Sorciere's missions.

"There was a mage with the ability to cancel magic and another skilled with a sword." Cobra vaguely answered her unasked question.

Lucy hummed and nodded but didn't look away from her task. When Virgo was finished stitching Midnight's wound, she said to Lucy, "I've closed the wound but he will need to rest, preferably somewhere more comfortable than your table."

Rolling her eyes at her obnoxious spirit friend, Lucy said, "Thanks, Virgo. Do you think he'll be alright tonight or should we have Wendy come now?"

"He is stable enough to survive without immediate medical attention but he should be seen as soon as possible tomorrow. If that is all, I will be leaving." With a bow and burst of sparkles, Virgo disappeared back to the spirit realm.

The room was silent for a moment while Lucy debated on the best spot for Midnight to rest and Cobra wondered how long it would be until her teammates showed up.

"I'm going to get a couple of old blankets to cover my bed. Can you carry him? I'll be done in a second."

A small nod from Cobra was the only response he gave to Lucy. She rolled her eyes at his lack of even basic social skills but didn't say anything. There was an injured man that needed help more than Cobra needed lessons on etiquette.

Once Midnight was settled on Lucy's bed, the two unlikely companions cleaned up the bloody mess while Cobra wondered what to do next. He had no intention of leaving Midnight in the apartment alone while unconscious and defenseless, but he wasn't sure how to bring up the subject of staying. It wasn't as if he'd spent much time around any people except the other mages in their so-called guild. The idea of spending an entire night in an unfamiliar place while worrying whether his friend would live or die had Cobra feeling more insecure than he'd ever be willing to admit.

Cobra didn't like feeling unsure. The feeling had him on edge, ready to defend himself and his friend from the smallest threat. It wasn't helping that Lucy's soul wasn't the easiest to get a clear read on now that she wasn't focused solely on caring for Midnight. There were too many thoughts and feelings flitting through her mind constantly. He'd occasionally catch a snippet of thought, but it wasn't anything useful. The most he could tell was that she was less upset than he expected her to be about them intruding in her home.

Lucy, on the other hand, was ignoring Cobra's brooding and wondering if she could still manage to enjoy her brownies before it got any later. Her pint of vanilla ice cream was a total loss. It had melted completely during the mad rush to save the bleeding man. At least the brownies could be microwaved and eaten with fudge. The night was still young – not really, but she was also ignoring the ticking clock – so maybe she could still finish the book she had been reading in the bath while pretending she was alone. Lucy was determined not to let the ex-criminals that tried to sacrifice her once upon a time completely ruin her relaxing evening.

Nearly an hour passed with Cobra standing uncomfortably in the Celestial Mage's kitchen focusing on the gentle yet confusing hum of her soul in hopes of discovering her intentions while Lucy continued pretending to be alone. He watched for any signs of ill intent as she moved around her kitchen preparing a third helping of brownies drowned in enough fudge to put a diabetic in a coma. It smelled good but he was ignoring his stomach in favor of focusing on figuring out what she was thinking. She was clearly in the middle of some internal debate that centered on him, which had him prepared to knock her out via poison gas. He had been wondering how long it would take her to ask him to leave and it seemed that time had arrived, but she would be in for a surprise. There was nothing she could do to force him to leave the apartment where his injured comrade slept.

"Do you want some of this? I have enough to share." Lucy said with a bright smile while holding out a bowl full of brownie topped with melted fudge. Normally, she prided herself on her ability to read people, but Cobra was really throwing her off. Her smile became strained the longer her stared at her with one eyebrow raised. She had expected a simple yes or no, not this uncomfortable silence. He looked slightly relieved but seemed frozen in a state of shock, as if she had just offered to have his babies.

The blonde's last thought came through loud and clear, making Cobra snort and shake his head. This woman was strange but seemed genuinely kind and wasn't going to ask him to leave. The tension eased out of his body as he accepted the bowl of sweet poison from her. If he wasn't so damned hungry, he would have said no, but his body wouldn't let him pass up the offer. He hadn't eaten all day and had used a ton of energy carrying Midnight here. He needed to keep his strength up in case her teammates showed up.

Lucy nearly offered Cobra a seat at the table until she remembered no one would ever be eating at that table again.

"Yeah, I'm sure as hell not sitting there." He grumbled as he moved past her to sit on the couch. Lucy followed him and sat down on the opposite end, doing her best to ignore how awkward it was to be sharing brownies with Cobra, the Poison Dragon Slayer, on a late Thursday night. She'd seen him around Magnolia and even in the guildhall a few times when Jellal forced them all to come visit, but they'd never spoken to one another. It wasn't that she had a problem with him causing her to avoid speaking with him. He just always made a point of avoiding everyone, so she let him be. Getting tired of the silence, she finally asked, "Do you like it?"

Cobra nodded but didn't say anything out loud. He wasn't about to tell her they were good but not nearly as good as the ones he baked.

A few more minutes passed until Lucy finished eating her brownie and decided it was time to address the elephant in the room. "You know, I don't mind if you guys stay here tonight, but we should at least call Wendy in the morning."

The one-eyed, blank stare Cobra settled on her left Lucy feeling a little uncertain. Was he actually going to say no to someone coming to heal Midnight? What was he planning to do? A horrible thought crossed her mind. What if Cobra planned to leave Midnight here with her? That would completely ruin all her plans for the morning. She thought she'd be able to sleep in a bit and whip up some nice, fluffy waffles for breakfast since Natsu probably wouldn't be climbing through her window. That couldn't happen if she was caring for a nearly-dead guy on her own.

With her mind focused on one subject, it was easy for Cobra to pick up on her thoughts. Her growing panic was too amusing to pass up, so he let her work herself up a bit more. His emotionless mask almost broke when her thoughts spiraled out of control as she imagined Midnight becoming disabled and moving in with her.

"You can call the mini-dragon in the morning." The immediate relief he picked up from Lucy made what she'd just been imagining even funnier. Her mental image of pushing the man around in a wheel chair with a quilt in his lap to keep him warm while he slept was something Cobra would have to remember when this was all over. Before she could even voice the thought that formed in her mind, Cobra said, "Don't even think about calling any of your crazy ass teammates. If any of them shows up, I'll poison the shit outta them."

"You're not poisoning anybody, asshole." She shot back with her eyes narrowed, though she relented and added, "But I won't call them if they make you that uncomfortable. I know they can be pretty crazy."

Cobra nodded and turned his attention back to his bowl. He scraped the last of the fudge from the bottom and licked it off the spoon. Bored and feeling unusually talkative, he said, "These brownies are alright but you added too much butter."

Lucy thought she might get whiplash with how quickly her neck snapped to stare at him in disbelief. "Too much butter? What do you know about baking?"

He shrugged and said, "Enough."

The blonde shook her head and tried to suppress the urge to argue with the dragon slayer. She had enough experience with the slayers in her guild and Sabertooth's to know it would be an uphill battle to win an argument with him.

After the unlikely pair settled on the couch and she finally managed to get him talking, Lucy found she didn't mind the Poison Dragon Slayer's company as much as she expected. He was quiet but could keep up a conversation if the topic interested him. The strangest of those topics being baked goods. Cobra claimed he could bake better than she could, which she argued wasn't possible, and he insisted he would prove to her at some point in the future. Cocky didn't begin to describe his attitude when it came to something he did well. Apparently, her brownies were subpar when compared to his confectionary masterpieces.

A loud yawn from the blonde signaled the end of their on and off conversation. She was tired and knew she should go to sleep if she hoped to be in a decent mood come morning. If she stayed on the couch much longer, she'd end up sleeping there and using Cobra as a pillow. Lucy was well aware she was a cuddly sleeper and assumed Cobra wouldn't appreciate being used as her teddy bear.

"You're damn right." He grumbled, which earned him a sleepy smile from Lucy that made him slightly uncomfortable. "I'll just sleep on the floor and you can have the couch." Though the floor did not look inviting, it wouldn't due to have the blonde sleeping on him. He hated being touched and all forms of affection were unacceptable.

"Don't be ridiculous." Lucy said as she slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand when he moved to stand. The gesture of familiarity went unnoticed by the blonde but Cobra stiffened at the contact. No one ever touched him. Lucy shot up off the couch and shouted "I have an idea!"

Cobra watched as she whipped a key through the air and summoned another spirit, one that was somewhat familiar to him from her time spent with Sorano. The lamb-woman's thoughts bordered on insanity, even stranger than the maid's. She envisioned Lucy shouting at her for taking too long to appear, though Lucy's soul told him clearly nothing of the sort had ever happened. The lamb-woman squirmed and cried, "I'm sorry, Princess! I'll get here faster next time."

A little confused but brushing off the odd statement, Lucy said, "Don't worry about it. Do you think you could use your Wool Bomb to make two beds for us to sleep on?"

"Of course, Princess!" The spirit extended her hands, palms out and meekly said, "Wool Bomb."

Two perfectly formed pink, mattress-sized cushions popped into existence. The timid lamb-woman asked, "Did I do it right?"

"Yes, Aries. That was great! You can go back now." When the spirit disappeared, Lucy walked over to a storage closet to grab two throw blankets. Handing one to Cobra, she said, "Here you go. Pick a bed and I'll be back in a minute to take the other one."

Lucy made a quick trip to the bathroom to brush her teeth before going to sleep. She'd considered skipping it for the night but didn't want to wake up with the taste of old chocolate on her tongue. Always the considerate host, she pulled out an unopened toothbrush and extra bottle of toothpaste for her guest. Leaning out of the doorway, she was about to speak but realized she didn't have to try talking around her toothbrush with someone like Cobra around. Looking at him to make sure he was paying attention, she focused on thinking at him, _I have an extra toothbrush you could use. You could even poison yourself with this extra bottle of toothpaste, if you want._

The only response he gave was a raised eyebrow, but he stood and walked over to the bathroom. It was strange to have her think at him that way. Only the people he'd spent most of his life with did that. Pushing away the thoughts, he took the tube and ripped the top off with his teeth. Of all the poisons he'd consumed, he had never tried out toothpaste. He squeezed a glob into his mouth and savored the flavor. The taste was nice, not surprising considering it was toothpaste, and the tingly feeling coursing throughout his body wasn't bad, either.

Immune to the oddities of dragon slayers after being Natsu's partner for so long, Lucy finished her nightly routine and left Cobra to do his own thing in the bathroom. She went into her bedroom to make sure Midnight was still breathing and then returned to her living room. It was clear to her which bed he'd chosen since he'd left his bloody coat lying on it. "Hey, Cobra. I'm gonna summon Virgo and send this bloody stuff with her."

Assuming the responding grunt was acceptance, the blonde summoned her spirit friend and sent the items away to be cleaned. Virgo assured Lucy she could get the blood out, something Lucy was grateful for. Buying several new towels wasn't in the broke woman's budget.

She got comfortable on the fluffy, wool mattress and tried not to worry about the possibility of the Reflector Mage dying while she slept. She didn't know him well but she was sure he'd be missed if he died. He was probably a nice enough guy now that he wasn't trying to take over the world. Hopefully Wendy could fix him up in the morning.

Unaware of how badly she was disturbing Cobra, Lucy allowed herself to relax and drift off to sleep. He waited until her breathing fully evened out before leaving the bathroom. It had been an unusually stressful day and he didn't think he was capable of more small talk, even if he didn't mind the big tittied blonde as much as he minded other people. She was strange but not completely in a bad way, though she was clearly as insane as the rest of Fairy Tail. Doing things like welcoming ex-criminals into her home then going to sleep with one of them awake and roaming around was not something a rational person would do. He couldn't exactly say he hated it, though. It was a nice change to be treated like a friend without the reserved behavior he was accustomed to.

What the hell was he thinking? He'd been awake too long. That had to be the reason he was thinking about how nice it was that she'd been kind to them. Maybe the poison in the toothpaste worked a little too well. It didn't matter, anyway. Tomorrow morning the little dragon slayer would come heal Midnight, and then they'd be off. It would probably be a long time before he saw the blonde again.

After checking on Midnight, Cobra walked back to his bed for the night and tried to get comfortable, but he couldn't relax. After turning a few times, he finally settled on his side facing the blonde. Even in the dimly lit room, he could make out her features well enough. She was still as good looking as she had been when her team fought his over Nirvana. Even covered up by the blanket, he could still make out the curve of her full breasts. The sight had his mind going to places it shouldn't. He couldn't leave to go find a whore and he wasn't about to fuck a Fairy Tail mage. Especially not one partnered with Titania and Salamandar. That was just asking for a headache.

He rolled to lie flat on his back and stare at the boring ceiling instead of the attractive woman a few feet away from him. Without the distraction, his mind replayed the moment Midnight got slashed by that sword over and over until he was angry enough to feel poison building up in his throat. It was a close call. He hadn't been sure his only friend would survive the trip here. At least he'd managed to dismember the sword wielder before the guy could get away.

Needing another distraction to make his mind relax, Cobra focused on the blonde's soul and found himself entertained by a very strange dream. Dream Lucy was standing the middle of her kitchen taking cooking lessons from a one-eyed, maroon snake that stood nearly as tall as she did. The snake hissed at her and nodded its head, directing her actions. Understanding what the snake wanted, she grabbed ingredients to bake sugar cookies and prepared the dough. The dream morphed to have the pair standing in front of a counter, but the snake was now wrapped around Lucy's body while helping her cut the dough into star shaped cookies.

Cobra pulled his mind back from the oddity that was Lucy Heartfilia. She was definitely crazy. He would just have to let his mind wander until sleep finally took him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Natsu! Damn it! Slow down!" Lucy chased after her idiotic partner into the dark, foreboding cave-like entrance to a dark guild. The dying echoes of his shouted, "I'm all fired up!" rang off the rock walls, telling Lucy she was headed in the right direction but was far behind her friend.

The blonde ran forward, letting the glow of her keys light the way through the dark tunnel. Thanks to Natsu destroying the structure's lacrima powered electrical system, which he thought was a good idea after Lucy mentioned it might be used as some sort of security system, none of the lights were working. She hadn't meant for him to destroy the thing, but it was just like Natsu to use a Flaming Dragon Fist to punch it into oblivion. With no windows cut into the rock, the interior was pitch black. Luckily, the floor was smooth and even, so Lucy ran forward without tripping over the usual debris found in a cave.

Eventually, she came to a split in the path and had to stop to decide which way to go. Knowing Natsu, he would choose to go right because right was the right way to go, right? Meaning Lucy needed to go left, because Natsu always got the two mixed up. She tried teaching him the difference many times over the years but it just never stuck. Decision made, she took off again, listening closely for any sounds that might let her know she was headed toward the flame breather.

Another minute or so spent jogging brought Lucy into a larger space. The end of the tunnel brought with it the end of the cave feeling. The room she found herself in had normal walls and a ceiling, with chairs and tables scattered around. The place was eerily empty for what appeared to be a guildhall, though much smaller than Fairy Tail's. She had been expecting to come across someone by now, even if it was an unconscious mage left in her partner's wake, but there wasn't a single person around. There was an unusual smell though, almost like something was decaying. Now that was disturbing. What was she going to find here? She was in the middle of a dark guild, so the possibilities were endless. Did they experiment on poor, helpless animals? Were there dismembered bodies somewhere nearby?!

She really needed to get her imagination under control before she started panicking over nothing. Calling forth her magic, Lucy summoned Leo's Star Dress and whispered, "O Regulus, Grant me your strength." Her fist lit up with the power of the stars, casting the rest of the room into an almost normal level of light. It may have been overkill to summon the dress and power up for a full attack, but she wanted to be ready for whatever zombie monsters this guild may have created.

Moving to put her back against a wall, Lucy observed the room. The shadows cast by the angle of the light made everything look even creepier to the blonde but she did her best to keep her mind from wandering. Now was not the time to think about magic wielding vampires lurking in the corners.

A few of the tables and chairs were upturned as if there had been a fight in this room but there was no other damage, so the fight either moved elsewhere or was a mild one. On the opposite wall there was an open door that looked like it led into a hallway and the wall to the left had a flight of stairs leading up to an overhanging balcony. Since the right side of the room didn't have a doorway, Lucy decided to go forward. She didn't think her partner had gone up the stairs since this room was lifeless. He would have kept moving forward looking for someone to fight.

The hallway turned out to be just a normal hallway. Nothing jumped out to scare or kidnap her. So far, the three doors she opened led to rooms empty of all but the furniture inside. Her arms ached from holding her glowing fist in the air to illuminate the surrounding darkness, but she wasn't about to let it drop just because of a little tingling. No way was she giving up her only light source just so a boogie man could sneak up on her.

She was starting to think this mission had already been taken care of by another guild and the Master hadn't known when he sent them out. It wasn't as if Master Makarov could have contacted them to let them know since Natsu had broken Lucy's lacrima comm on the way here. While the unnecessary trip would be a waste of time, she wouldn't be complaining at all about someone else accomplishing the task of taking out the dark guild that had been terrorizing the locals.

As she moved forward, the terrible smell got worse. Maybe the growing stench was due to the dead bodies left behind by whoever had taken care of this guild? Lucy couldn't decide if she hoped that was the case or not. If everyone was dead, she and Natsu could go home and be done with this scary place, but that would also mean she was headed into a morbid scene. Only one more door left to check. She would know soon.

As soon as the door left its frame, Lucy knew this door definitely led to whatever was decaying. The smell became overwhelming once she stepped through. Her nose burned and she had to force herself not to gag. The light from her glowing fist showed a horrific scene. There were bodies lying on the floor and one chained to the wall. None of them even twitched at the brightness of the light. The bodies on the floor were contorted in what looked like agony, as if they had died screaming and clawing at their melted skin.

Lucy lost the fight with her gag reflex and spilled her breakfast onto the floor. Clearly Natsu was not in this room and had probably not even come in this direction. With his strong sense of smell, he probably knew to avoid coming this way back at the split in the entrance tunnel.

Just as she was turning to flee the nightmare of death she'd stumbled on, she heard a wheezing, raspy breath come from one of the dead guys. Her head whipped back in the direction of the body on the wall just in time to see one of the arms pull weakly against the restraints. Her scream of terror was loud enough to wake the dead, which is exactly what she was afraid of.

If the shock hadn't frozen her in place, she never would have heard the whispered, "Wait."

Somewhere in her mind, the voice registered as familiar, forcing her to take in the person's other familiar features. It was clearly a man, since he was shirtless and no boobs were present, with maroon hair and tight red pants. That combination tickled her memory. She was fairly certain she knew whoever was chained to that wall.

The need to help overcame her terror and she raced across the room. Up close, she recognized the man for who he was. It had been months since Cobra broke into her apartment with an injured Macbeth, but she still knew who he was through the bruises and grime caked on his face.

More to herself than to him, she whispered, "Oh my god! Cobra! What happened to you?" She reached out with her non-glowing hand and nearly touched him but thought better of it. His face was a mess of bruises and cuts as if someone had beaten him thoroughly. Even his ears had dried blood running from them. She wasn't sure why he was shirtless, but thought the whip hanging on the wall might have something to do with it. If they had been planning to whip him, she hoped he had been the one to melt the bastards' faces off.

As Lucy summoned Virgo, she went over everything she knew should be done in a situation like this, which wasn't much. The magic cancelling cuffs obviously had to come off first. He was probably dehydrated and needed to ingest the source of his magic so his dragon slayer abilities could speed up the healing process, but what else should she do? When Virgo materialized beside Lucy, she said, "Virgo, can you help me get him down?"

"Of course, Princess." Lucy helped her spirit support the man as they released him from his shackles. Once Cobra was free, Lucy summoned Taurus to carry the unresponsive man out of the Room of Death, as she'd named it in her mind. She was glad the bull spirit kept his pervy moos to a minimum, apparently recognizing the severity of the injured dragon slayer's condition.

Still in her Star Dress, Lucy led the way using the glow of her magic as she gave orders to Virgo, "Please bring me water and some type of poison. Do you have any in liquid form? Maybe bleach or something like that?"

The maid bowed then disappeared for only a few seconds before reappearing next to Lucy as the group made it into the main room. The Celestial Mage directed Taurus to gently lay Cobra on the table closest to the entrance to get away from the smell, and then sent her bull spirit back to the Celestial Realm.

Virgo set her findings on the table as she said, "Princess, I retrieved chlorinated water and small towels. The slayer should suck the moisture from a saturated towel instead of trying to drink from a cup to avoid choking him while he's lying flat on his back."

"Thank you, Virgo." Lucy said as she dunked a towel into the water. She placed the wet cloth against Cobra's lip and squeezed it gently, forcing a bit of liquid between his cracked lips. Whispering to him as she ran her hands over his matted hair, Lucy hoped to wake him enough to get him to swallow. The encouragement seemed to work because the previously unresponsive man swallowed and then began sucking the moisture from the towel as she instructed. Lucy had another wet towel prepared to replace the first as soon as it was nearly dry.

Looking to Virgo, Lucy said, "Can you –"

Her words were cut off as pounding steps sounded in the passageway leading from the outside. Orangish light that could only come from flames illuminated the entrance to the room just before Natsu's form appeared. "Luce! What's wrong? I heard you scream. Who do I need to punch?"

"Be quiet!" Lucy whisper-yelled at Natsu, "I found Cobra and he's hurt pretty badly."

Natsu walked closer to check out the situation but stopped in his tracks when he heard a warning growl from the other dragon slayer. Lucy looked down at her patient, hearing the growl at the same moment a feverish hand wrapped around her wrist.

Tone turning serious, Natsu warned, "Luce, you should probably move back." The flames engulfing his hands heated to a dangerous level as the Fire Dragon Slayer responded to the threat. It didn't matter if the other dragon slayer was immobile. Natsu would still beat Cobra's face in. Nobody was keeping his partner away from him.

Lucy could tell there was some weird dragon slayer stuff going on between the two men but she didn't understand the subtle nuances of it all, nor did she care to at the moment. "Natsu Dragneel," She started in a firm voice, planting her free hand on her hip, "you need to back off right now. I will not have you fighting Cobra in the state he's in. That can wait until he's healed. If you aren't going to help get him on his feet, then sit and wait until I'm done." She finished with a vague gesture indicating he could go anywhere that wasn't directly next to her.

Turning away from her partner, Lucy focused her attention on wetting another towel, so she missed the silent snarls exchanged between the two men. The disgruntled dragon slayer dropped into a chair far enough away to avoid irritating Lucy but close enough to quickly respond to another territorial threat.

With the cuffs removed, the poison flowing through Cobra's body worked with his magic to have his health improving at an impressive speed. His breathing seemed less labored and his pulse had evened out. Lucy wondered how the dark mages were able to get them on in the first place but figured that story could wait for another time. "Virgo, can you help me clean the blood off of him? We need to figure out if there are any serious injuries."

Before Virgo could touch him, Cobra let out another warning growl. Lucy ignored Natsu's exclamation as he jumped to his feet again and turned her ire on Cobra. Her angry, brown eyes met his defiant, indigo eye. "Do you _want_ me to leave you here to die? Because Natsu sure as hell isn't going to help you and there's no one else for miles around but those dead guys back there. So you can either suck it up and deal with letting one of my spirits help, or you can figure this out on your own."

They glared at each other for a few seconds before Cobra relented and closed his eye. Accepting that as an invitation to continue, Lucy directed Virgo on how best to help and the pair worked on getting Cobra to a state he could be moved safely.

Natsu watched the scene before him with a sinking feeling in his gut. He didn't like this one bit. He knew all about Cobra showing up at Luce's apartment with his injured guildmate months ago. That incident also didn't sit right with him but he couldn't put his finger on why. Of all places for Cobra to go when he needed help, why go to Lucy? And why was he now acting like he had any right to demand her attention? Something smelled fishy and it wasn't Happy.

Lucy sent Virgo back after they determined Cobra's dehydration was the only life threatening injury. She eventually released her Star Dress, too, so her magic wouldn't run low. With Natsu in the room, she could see by the light of the fire he kept lit around his body, though she had to repeatedly force him to put out the fires he set to furniture out of boredom. Somehow it slipped his mind that she could die of smoke inhalation.

The Poison Dragon Slayer recovered enough to talk long before he was able to walk. He didn't say much, not that she would have expected him to even if he were healthy, but he did answer her questions. Well, he answered with enough words for her to put the pieces together. Apparently, he'd been captured by the dark mages after he'd killed all but three of their guild members. One of the three used magic that magnified sound waves, which incapacitated him long enough for the other two to get the magic cancelling cuffs on him. Too bad for them they didn't realize even his blood was poison. He might not have been able to release a poisonous gas, but all he had to do was wait until they were all close enough at once for him spit the blood he let pool in his mouth after biting his lip. Though, from what Lucy gathered, waiting for that perfect moment required him to endure a beating from one of the men.

Lucy was tired of being in this abandoned dark guild's hideout, especially with the temperature growing by the second because of Natsu's fire. Not to mention the smell wafting in from the Room of Death that she would never be able to wash out of her hair. She ignored her partners whining about leaving behind Cobra to fend for himself, even though the Poison Dragon Slayer agreed with the sentiment. She couldn't leave him here alone and immobile. What if someone stumbled across him before he was well enough to fight back? Before Lucy could suggest she call out Taurus to carry him again, Cobra rasped, "No one carries me. I'll poison anyone that tries."

Cobra closed his eye again and ignored Lucy's grumbling about him being an ungrateful asshole. She was wrong. Not about him being an asshole, but about him being ungrateful. He was grateful as hell that she showed up when she did. He didn't think he would have survived another day with no water and no magic to keep him going.

He wanted her to leave now, though. She'd done her part in saving his helpless ass, so she could go on her way. With his soul listening magic, he would having plenty of warning if someone was coming, but that same magic also let him know how stubbornly she would fight him on leaving, so he let it go. It wasn't worth the energy required to argue her into submission. He was still too weak for the effort.

It wouldn't be much longer until he could walk out on his own since he'd been able to drink the rest of the poisoned water the crazy spirit had conjured up out of nowhere. Paranoid as he was, he checked the maid's soul for any ill intentions towards him. She didn't have any, but he also couldn't figure out where she got the chlorinated water. It was like she disappeared to the spirit realm and it was just right there where she needed it. Maybe it was. He didn't know how the spirit's magic worked.

He needed to get away from the blonde bimbo before she tainted more of his mind. After their last encounter, it took weeks for him to stop thinking about her daily. She still popped up in his thoughts occasionally. There weren't many people he could have a conversation with outside Jellal's group of misfits, so it was unusual to have enjoyed Lucy's company so much. And here he was again, thinking about her. Only this time she was in the same room as him, so it made him more uncomfortable than at other times.

She was a poison for his mind. Maybe that's why he liked thinking about her so much.

With that ridiculous thought, it was time for him to get away from her. The delirium he had been suffering from must still be affecting him. There was no other explanation for it. Testing out his legs, the muscles didn't feel as stiff or protest when he bent them. He sat up slowly, waiting to see if he would topple over from dizziness like he had earlier when he'd tried to get up. When he made it to his feet, the room swayed a bit but it wasn't the worst he'd ever felt. There had been times during his childhood trapped in the Tower of Heaven when his body had been in worse shape but he'd still been forced to work. If he could make it through forced slave labor while nearing the brink of starvation, he could endure walking out of a hidden lair on his own strength.

Lucy hovered nearby wanting to help but knowing Cobra wouldn't let her. Every time she thought about forcing her assistance on him, he would glare at her, just like right now, as if he were reminding her of his promise to poison anyone that touched him. The smirk he was giving her now confirmed her suspicions. She muttered, "Stubborn asshole."

"Pushy bitch"

"We could have all been out of this hellhole a long time ago if you would get over yourself." Lucy usually did her best to be kind to people but Cobra was pissing her off wasting everyone's time because of his pride.

"I didn't ask you to stay." He shot back at her as he rotated his shoulders and continued stretching the stiff muscles in his body. When he looked toward Lucy, he realized she had moved much closer to him, probably hoping to catch him if he fell over. No matter how mad he made her, he knew she would still try to help him. She was a soft hearted idiot like that. Her soul spoke that much loud and clear.

"Not all of us get off on people dying." She shot one more glare at him before turning to Natsu. "Hey, idiot! Wake up! You set another table on fire!"

Natsu shot up from his spot laid out on a table and quickly put out the fire where he'd been laying. "Sorry, Luce!" Looking toward the other two in the room, he said, "Oh hey! The jerk's up. We can leave now, right?"

The trio made their way out of the large room with Natsu running ahead to scout, though most likely just trying to get away from Cobra. When the two of them had started growling at each other again, she slapped them both on the back of their heads. It didn't matter if Cobra wasn't fully recovered. If he felt good enough to antagonize Natsu, then he was well enough to take a slap from her.

Lucy and Cobra had trudged maybe a third, a generous estimate, of the distance through the tunnel leading outside before Lucy finally gave into her impatience and stepped into Cobra's personal space to support him. Ignoring his growling, she slung one of his arms over her shoulders, holding it in place with a hand while wrapping her other around his waist. He was taller than her but not a heavy man, so she knew she could make it to the entrance while supporting his weight.

"You're not going to poison me or attack me so just shut up." Lucy snapped at him, her patience left somewhere behind them in the tunnel. She couldn't continue watching him stumble along as slowly as a dying snail when they could both make it out of there much faster if she were helping him.

"Cantankerous cunt"

"Sulfuric shithead"

Cobra couldn't contain the wheeze of laughter that escaped him at her insult. That was a new one.

"Ya know," Lucy said between labored breaths and huffs of laughter. Maybe Cobra was heavier than she though. "You wouldn't be so bad if you weren't such a prickly jerk."

Cobra grunted, unwilling and unsure of what to say in response. She had no idea how prickly he could really be. Two interactions without him attempting to murder her or her anyone she cared about and she was ready to make nicey nice with him. Maybe even become friends. Fairy Tail mages were all insane.

The rest of the walk was made in silence broken only by the sounds of their heavy breathing and Natsu's ongoing reports of how much further they had. When Lucy couldn't take anymore of his updates, she sent him ahead to figure out where Erza and Gray had disappeared to. It wasn't as if she actually needed him to find them. Lucy just needed to give her energetic partner something to do. Erza had informed Lucy of where she and Gray were headed just after Natsu ran off to investigate the cave entrance, leaving Lucy to follow after her crazy partner to make sure he didn't get into trouble. She was fairly certain Erza would contact Jellal after she heard the story from Natsu, then Cobra would be back with his people. Probably. Hopefully. As long as they weren't too far off to come collect him.

Cobra agreed with Lucy's musings, though he didn't say so out loud. He also didn't mention to her that he knew Jellal and the others were about half a day of travel away. If they moved quickly, the group could be here by nightfall. That would leave Cobra in the hands of Fairy Tail's group for the next few hours, or he might spend those hours alone if he were lucky. Though that last part felt like a lie for reasons he wasn't willing to examine.

Once outside the tunnel, the pair knelt together with Lucy trying to help Cobra ease into sitting against the rock face and Cobra jerking away with unnecessary roughness. The uncoordinated actions resulted in the two stumbling into the hard surface and then plopping roughly onto the ground.

Lucy grunted in frustration as she untangled herself from Cobra and said, "Next time I come across a Room of Death, I'm sending someone else inside. No way am I saving crabby jerks from the brink of death again. So ungrateful."

Even while grumbling rude things about Cobra, Lucy still fussed over him, checking his wrists and ankles to make sure the bleeding had stopped. He had no idea where she got a wet cloth, but he suddenly found himself being wiped down by steady hands. It was oddly soothing to have her wiping the grime off his face and chest, cleaning him as if he were a helpless child. Though the obscenities she was muttering would likely traumatize a small child.

"Enough, woman." Cobra grunted while pushing Lucy away. When she pushed back and kept wiping at a particularly stubborn spot of blood on his neck, he pushed harder until Lucy fell backwards on to her butt.

A shriek slipped from her mouth when her backside hit the rough ground. "Fine!" She shouted. "Stay dirty then!" It didn't make any sense to her that he wouldn't let her help him. What was the big deal, anyway? She just wanted to clean him up a little. Seeing him looking so weak and filthy tugged at her heart strings, making her protective instincts kick in.

Lucy scooted and turned until she was seated next to Cobra, leaning back against the rock. Even grumpy and frustrated, she wouldn't leave him to fend for himself. She planned to stay and help him no matter how difficult he became. It just wasn't in her to leave an injured person behind.

"Thanks." Cobra muttered without opening his eyes or raising his head from where it leaned against the rock. It wasn't something he said often, or ever really, but he knew he needed to be grateful to this woman.

A snort of disbelief left Lucy, but her manners forced her to say, "You're welcome."

After a beat of silence, Cobra muttered, "Zombies and vampires?"

When she didn't answer right away, Cobra cracked his good eye open and looked over to see Lucy smiling with her eyes closed and head leaned against the wall, seeming relaxed in his company. The sight made him uncomfortable.

With a shrug she laughed softly then answered, "Active imagination, I guess." Her smile fell away as she opened her eyes to look at him. "What I found wasn't much better."

Turning away to break the eye contact, he said, "At least you still have your blood in your veins and no one is chomping on your brain."

"Well, there's that. Very optimistic of you."

Silence fell over the pair, though not uncomfortable. Lucy's mind drifted from topic to topic, much like the last time he had been in her company. She was completely at ease with him, unconcerned with his past or reputation. Her soul held none of the usual fears of the known murderer. Content was a fitting word, though one he wouldn't normally associate with anyone in his company. It was strange, but nice, which was something he didn't want to think about.

Instead, he focused on the incoming trio of Fairy Tail mages. The red head was trying to cover up how excited she was about seeing Jellal in a few hours by berating Natsu for leaving Lucy alone with an injured patient. Cobra was not looking forward to seeing Erza requip into her nurse outfit. Some men might find the look sexy, but not Cobra. He could hear the craziness lurking underneath, which ruined the appeal. Threats of poison would likely hold the woman off.

Seconds before she asked the question, Cobra knew it was coming. Lucy had just remembered she had a canteen of water at her waist and was mentally scolding herself for not offering it to him sooner. As she unhooked the container from her utility belt, she asked, "Are you thirsty? I have some water."

Cobra eyed the canteen extended toward him. He really didn't want to accept more help from the blonde but refusing would mean he would be forced to listen to more rambling, both her thoughts and words spoke aloud, so he nodded and took the offered beverage. It was weird to sip water from a container that smelled like her. It wasn't unusual for him to share a canteen with someone, though he was always the last to sip since his saliva was poisonous, but this was different. It wasn't one of his guildmates, the people that were almost family to him. No, the scent coming off the canteen was one he was beginning to associate with words like kindness and selflessness, plus other things he didn't want to think about.

So he sipped the water and ignored the woman next to him while he waited for his guildmates to come rescue him from the little fairy that was slowly poisoning his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

The pain in Lucy's body woke her. Everything hurt but she couldn't remember why. Thinking made the spinning in her head worse, so she stopped trying to focus on the fuzzy memories. When she managed to crack her eyes open, there was hardly enough light to see anything around her, but even the small amount of light made her skull feel like it might split.

She lay flat on her back as she felt around with her hands. Moving her right arm caused pain so intense she almost lost consciousness again. Her senses were overwhelmed with shooting pain, nausea and dizziness threatening to take her back under. When she'd calmed her labored breathing enough to gain control of her thoughts, she realized her arm was probably broken. She lay still for a bit longer until she felt confident moving wouldn't make things worse.

Eventually, she resumed her hunt for clues on her whereabouts with only her left arm. The rocks stabbing into her back and dirt beneath her hand told her she was on the ground somewhere. The aching throughout her body likely meant she'd hit something pretty hard before falling on the ground. Not uncommon for a job with Team Natsu. Wait – Natsu. Where was Natsu? Hadn't she been with him and Happy?

Lucy sat up, cradling her right arm protectively as she looked around in search of her partner and his cat. Seeing something that looked like a human shaped lump a few feet to her left side, the blonde scooted towards it. The space was too small to stand, with hardly enough room to stretch her body out fully while lying down. She was forced to scoot along on her backside using only her left arm for support since her right was out of commission. Each inch she gained in what she hoped was Natsu's direction sent a jolt of pain through her body, but she was determined to find her best friend.

As she moved, the fuzzy memories started filtering through the fog in her mind – the pack of wyverns they'd been fighting had been close to being wiped out when a small one tried to escape through an opening in the cliff wall. The rocks had collapsed over her, Natsu and the wyvern - which she hoped was not the body she was inching towards. She was pretty sure she remembered Happy screaming a terrified warning as the rocks fell, so he was probably safe somewhere outside this mess.

After what felt like hours to her pained muscles, she finally made it over to the prone form and felt around to make sure it was Natsu. The first contact she made told her it was definitely a human, and a few more pats confirmed it was Natsu. The bare torso was obviously male and way too hot to be anyone else that wasn't deathly sick with fever, plus the scarf around his neck could only belong to one person.

"Natsu, get up. I think we're trapped beneath a pile of rocks." She shook his shoulder as she whispered, but he didn't move. "Seriously, Natsu, get up. This isn't the best time for a nap."

His lack of movement made her chest flutter with panic. Natsu never went down for long. Why wasn't he waking up? Lucy continued talking to him and tapping on his chest, growing more frantic by the second when he still didn't move. Her breath started coming in pants as fear blossomed. Natsu must have been hurt pretty badly when the rocks fell, but she couldn't see anything in the darkness. Now that she desperately needed light, it seemed even darker in the enclosed space. She tried to stay calm and not imagine all the terrible injuries he could have, but she couldn't seem to control herself. The pain in her body mixed with anxiety to create a level of panic she hadn't felt since breaking Aquarius' key. She couldn't lose another friend! She didn't think she'd survive it.

Placing her ear against his chest, she confirmed his heart was still beating and she could feel his chest moving against her head, so he was breathing well enough. At least, she hoped so. She wasn't really sure what a normal heartbeat or breathing rate was, but his didn't seem too fast or slow. A bit of the tightness in her chest eased at the realization that he would probably wake up soon. She felt around on his arms and legs for injuries, ignoring the pain in her own arm protesting all the movements she was making. It wasn't until she touched his head that her panic returned worse than before. His hair was soaked in warm, thick fluid. It felt like blood. It even smelled like blood. Now she was really scared.

She tried reaching out to her spirits with her magic but she was too exhausted. Her magic had already been low towards the end of the fighting and it seemed her injuries were preventing her from accessing whatever was left in her reserves. The keys on her hip warmed in acknowledgement, but that was all the comfort her spirits could give her for now. It looked like she would be on her own for this one.

Her next breath was a choked gasp as she realized she was completely alone. The tears she'd kept locked up tight started to flow down her cheeks and her hand flew to her mouth. She sobbed when she realized she'd just smeared her best friend's blood all over her face.

She wiped her wet hand on her skirt and did her best to hunch over to wipe away the blood. It wouldn't do her any good to get herself worked up now. She had to calm down and think with a level head.

Someone would be coming. Erza and Gray were out there somewhere and Happy should have found them by now. Even if she had only been unconscious for a few minutes, it would have been enough time for the exceed to fly over to their teammates to let them know she and Natsu were in trouble.

If only she could call Virgo to dig a tunnel, they would be out in no time. No magic meant no Virgo. Fighting off a hoard of monsters will do that to a girl. All her magic had wandered off somewhere.

Ugh, her thoughts were starting to not make any sense. She really should lie back down before she passed out again.

Lucy eased herself back down to the ground next to her partner. She tried to pretend he was just sleeping instead of unconscious from an injury. Panicking wouldn't do her any favors. She was scared, though, so she reached out with her good hand and grasped his warm one. He didn't squeeze back but that was ok. His skin was still hot so he was still alive. With her injured arm laid gently over her stomach, Lucy closed her eyes and tried to stay calm until help arrived.

XX

Cobra was bored. Really fucking bored. Bored enough to see how little poison was needed to melt things – rocks, sticks, grass, beetles – nothing was safe from the wrath of his boredom. Crime Sorciere had been aimlessly wandering around the wilderness for more than a week. Everyone knew Jellal was actually waiting for his red haired honey to show up after her team's job request was complete, but their leader was still holding to his lie that the group was pursuing a lead on a dark guild.

Cobra loosely kept tabs on the Fairy Tail mages with his magic to make sure he had adequate warning of their arrival. They were only about half a mile away, not that Cobra had offered that information to Jellal. The love sick blueberry would've had their group rushing off to assist the other mages with a simple job they could handle on their own. He'd been listening to the sounds of an unnecessarily violent battle for awhile now, so the group of Fairies should be finished soon. He planned to be long gone before the happy troupe of love and friendship showed up. Especially before the blonde one could spot him. He needed to stay far away from her. Her kind heart and friendly smile had polluted his mind so badly that he couldn't erase her from his thoughts.

"If you melt much more of the nearby foliage, the locals will need to worry about poison seeping into the underground water supply." Midnight helpfully offered as he watched an innocent bush melt into nothingness on the ground.

"You're right." Cobra sighed in a resigned tone, and then turned a devious look on his friend. He raised one hand, toxic fumes rising menacingly from his fingertips. "Maybe I should find something else to entertain me. I wonder if I could melt holes in that fur coat of yours without burning your skin?"

Midnight narrowed his eyes, body tensed as if he were ready to run at the first sign of poison heading his way. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, but I would. Do you know how much sleep I got last night?" True irritation entered Cobra's voice. Midnight swallowed nervously, eyeing the growing fumes closely. "I finally dozed off just before midnight, only to be woken by the disturbing sound of you fucking your hyperactive girlfriend. That's not even the worst of it. Hearing you tell Meredy you wanted her to –"

Cobra's tirade stopped abruptly when his head whipped to the side as he listened for a moment, and then he took of running in the direction he'd been staring.

"What the hell?" Midnight muttered to himself as he watched Cobra disappear from view. Before he could think much more of his friend's strange behavior, he heard Cobra shout, "Tell Jellal his woman is in trouble."

Cobra focused on Midnight's soul just long enough to be sure the Reflector Mage had passed along the message. Not that it was true, exactly, but it would definitely get Jellal into action quickly. He would probably get shit from Midnight about the lie, but it didn't matter. Crime Sorciere needed to get to the site of the collapse before Titantia and the ice guy acted on their stupid idea to hack through the fallen boulders. Cobra tried not to question himself too much. Taking off to help someone in need wasn't really his style, but he owed the blonde – or at least that's what he told himself.

It didn't take long to cover the half mile distance. The problem he encountered was the giant pile of debris blocking his path. The rock slide had covered more ground than he'd anticipated, closing the path through the canyon ahead. Cobra would be forced to climb over, but the delay could prove deadly for the two trapped mages. Another collapse would definitely kill them both.

Now would be a great fucking time to have a flying snake. Shit, he'd even take a flying unicorn if one popped up. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Cobra picked up on a soul he'd completely forgotten existed.

"Hey, you blue bastard! I know you saw me! Get your ass back over here." Cobra shouted at the quickly fleeing airborne feline. He could clearly hear the cat's terror of him mingling with panic over the dragon slayer trapped beneath the rocks. In what he hoped was a reassuring tone, he added, "I'm not here to kill anyone but I might change my mind if you don't fly me over this pile.

This seemed to catch the cat's attention, because he looked back toward Cobra and hesitantly drifted over. "Hurry the fuck up, would you?" Cobra struggled to tamp down on his impatience to keep the cat from taking off again. "If we don't stop your teammates' assault on the boulders, they'll crush your fire breathing friend and the blonde chick."

At those words, the cat shot towards Cobra, slamming into his chest with a loud wail. "You gotta help him! Natsu's stuck and Lushy, too!"

Disgust nearly overwhelmed Cobra when he pulled the sobbing cat off his chest and a string of slobbery snot followed along. "I fucking know that. Get yourself together and stop using my shirt as a tissue or you'll be licking this shit off."

Happy nodded and mumbled an apology, then gave Cobra a hopeful look. "So you'll help?"

"Damn it, yes! I've been saying that all along. Can we go now?"

Cobra was relieved to find traveling by cat didn't cause him motion sickness. Without the distraction, he was able to focus on the souls nearby, adding an inner narrative to the scene he could now see before him.

_No no no no Natsu Lucy I can't lose you please don't leave me_

_I cannot fail. I must rescue my friends! This was my fault._

The red headed beast was hammering away at a large boulder while the ice guy was trying to keep his composure and freeze the boulder away. Clearly his panic was interfering with his logic, or maybe all Fairy Tail mages were just stupid.

"You two keep doing that shit and you'll kill your friends instead of rescuing them." Cobra said as way of greeting when he and Happy were near the ground. Both mages stopped and stared at the unexpected arrival.

"Cobra? What are you doing here?" Erza asked in surprise. Remembering the task at hand, her expression shifted to one of determination. "While it is always wonderful to see you, I must not be distracted. My teammates are trapped beneath this rubble and are in dire need of assistance."

Cobra didn't understand how Jellal dealt with this woman. Didn't she hear a damn word he just said? It wasn't like he was here for a social visit. He didn't visit anyone socially. The only people he dropped in on were usually dead by the time he left.

He pinched his nose and sighed, "Cat, go back across to wait for Jellal and the others. You two, get out of the way." After hearing Jellal's name, Erza was easily waived away.

Gray eyed Cobra suspiciously. He knew the mages of Crime Sorciere were no longer criminals, but that didn't mean he trusted them. He asked, "You got a plan?"

The idiocy of these people was astonishing. "Yes, I have a fucking plan. Why the hell do you think I'm here?" Damn fairies and their stupid questions.

The ice guy didn't go away like Cobra hoped but he also didn't try to stop Cobra from nearing the boulders. Thanks to his earlier boredom, Cobra had a fairly good idea which combination of poisons to use to melt away the stone in a safe manner. He had to be careful not to destroy any of the rocks supporting the weight of the others or his efforts would be for naught. He tried not to think about why the thought of the blonde chick – he refused to think of her by name – dying was disturbing to him.

After a few more seconds of deliberation, Cobra chose a section of rubble he believed could be melted away enough to crawl through without weakening the larger stones nearby. It was more like mixed debris than solid stone, so it shouldn't be part of the support base. He hoped. He raised both hands to the chosen area and allowed poison to seep slowly from his fingers. The texture of the dirt and stones began to change into something softer that seemed to melt downward to puddle onto the ground, where it hardened into a misshapen mass. A sense of relief swept over him as he realized his plan was working. None of the other rocks shifted or became unstable as he worked. It only took a few minutes to create a hole large enough to slip into.

Cobra didn't wait for anyone to give him approval. He slipped into the hole and crawled through to the small space beyond. The light shining inside showed a small overhang with two bodies beneath. It seemed the jut of solid rock in the cliff wall had saved the two mages, covering them during the avalanche of stone.

He looked over the prone bodies, assessing both for injuries. The blonde chick's forearm had a nasty break in it. He'd had broken arms and caused them, so he knew what the swollen lump meant. The fire breather didn't appear to have anything broken but smelled like fresh blood. His hair was darker than usual, more red than pink, so Cobra assumed the guy had a head injury. He had to go first, since head injuries were more serious than broken bones.

"Hey, ice guy," Cobra heard the guy mutter 'the name's Gray' but ignored him. "I'm about to pass one of them through. He's got a head injury so try not to whack his head on anything."

Cobra crouched awkwardly in the small space and worked his arms beneath Natsu's shoulders and knees. The little bastard was heavier than he looked. Hunched over as he was in the small space, the muscles in Cobra's lower back strained painfully as he lifted the weight of a limp body.

Why the hell was he doing this? He usually killed or maimed people. He never saved them. He couldn't think of a single time he went out of his way to rescue someone. When he was feeling kind, he would tell somebody else there was a person in need, but he never did the saving. What the fuck was happening to him?

Cobra turned his body and slid on his knees toward the opening in the stone. The light was blocked by another person, he assumed the ice guy, filling the opening. The two worked together to get Natsu's head and shoulders through the hole without jostling his body or the stones too much. Just outside the hole, the other mage had created a ramp of ice so they could just slide the unconscious dragon slayer to the ground. Not a bad idea for a fairy.

With one out of the way, Cobra went back to the other injured mage. She looked like shit, pale and expression contorted in pain. There was no blood but she was unconscious, so she likely had a head injury too. He couldn't control the stab of panic that surged through him at the realization she might be injured worse than he'd originally assumed.

Muttering obscenities under his breath, Cobra picked her up, glad she wasn't surprisingly heavy like her partner, and scooted toward the opening. He did his best to ignore how possessive he suddenly felt of her, how the dragon soul trapped inside him was demanding he protect her. What the fuck did that stupid lizard know, anyway? When the light in the opening was again blocked by the other guy leaning in, Cobra couldn't contain his low growl.

"What the hell is your problem? Give her here." Gray demanded impatiently.

Irritated with himself, Cobra repeated his earlier actions, ignoring the trapped soul's demands while gently passing the injured woman's head and shoulders through the opening, then maneuvering her legs through. Gray helped her slide gently down to the ground, and then Cobra followed her through.

Once on the outside and upright, Cobra looked around to see all of Crime Sorciere had been hauled over the rock pile by a now exhausted looking cat. Both injured mages were lying on gurneys – where the fuck did those come from? Titania's soul filled him in with her memory of pulling medical supplies from her requip storage. Maybe he should learn how to requip so he could hide Midnight's makeup bag when the guy pissed him off.

The injured dragon slayer had a helmet-shaped chunk of ice over his skull and a brace made of ice covered Lucy's arm - Another surprisingly good idea from the ice guy. Maybe he wasn't so bad.

Cobra left the dragon slayer to be fussed over by his undercover lover and a nurse without training, and walked over to the blonde chick to check on her. He still owed her, right? He ignored the small voice in the back of his mind saying the reason for checking on her was something else.

He tapped gently on her cheek and said, "Wake up." When she didn't respond, he tapped her cheek a few more times until he heard the stirring of her soul as she came back to consciousness. "I need you to stay alive so I can repay my debt. You can die some other time."

A small snort escaped her nose and she whispered "asshole" but didn't open her eyes.

The corner of Cobra's lips twitched in amusement. "You can keep your eyes shut if you want to pretend you're sleeping. I wouldn't want Titania caring for me either." Another snort assured him she was definitely listening. "I can hear you if you need to say something."

She was wondering where he came from, so he answered, "We weren't far off. Jellal was waiting for your team to finish the job before meeting up. The love birds have been planning an overnight camping trip for weeks."

He answered her disgusted thoughts with, "I wasn't looking forward to listening to them fuck, either."

When she didn't ask about anything else, he said, "Someone is going to have to set the break in your arm." Before her dread and panic could worsen, he added, "I can create a poison to dull some of the pain. You'll be on a trip like nothing you've experienced, but the pain won't be so bad."

Her soul informed him that she'd never tried drugs before and never used pain killers stronger than what was readily available to the public, so he informed her, "You're in for a surprise, then."

It didn't take long for Nurse Erza to determine Natsu would be alright with some rest, and then make her way over to Lucy. After a quick examination, the self proclaimed nurse announced, "Her arm is broken."

Cobra muttered, "I noticed."

As if she hadn't heard him, Erza went on, "I will proceed with setting the break while she is unconscious."

Lucy's eyes popped open and before she could protest in panic, Cobra cut in, "You're not doing shit until I give her something for the pain."

Eyes narrowed at Cobra, Erza rested one fist rested on her hip and pointed at him with the other hand as she asked, "Do you have illegal pharmaceuticals in your possession?"

"No, but I have poison that will numb the pain."

"I will not allow you to poison my dear friend!" Erza insisted while leaning across the gurney to poke Cobra in the chest, suddenly terrified Cobra had reverted to his criminal ways.

Sensing the oncoming struggle, Lucy spoke up, "It's ok, Erza. Cobra already talked to me about it. I'll be alright."

"You aren't thinking clearly, Lucy." Erza started to ramble on with a lecture about how unsafe it would be for Lucy to accept Cobra's poison. Ignoring the outraged woman, Lucy looked at Cobra, silently asking him to go through with it.

While Erza was distracted with her tirade about safe drug usage, Cobra focused his magic to release a stream of poison into Lucy's nostrils that would work as a numbing agent, amongst other things. The red headed woman was none the wiser. "Alright, you win." Cobra said to Erza, "You can do things your way."

Nodding in approval at Cobra's acceptance of her wisdom, Erza said, "I'm glad you've seen the error of your ways." Looking around for her other teammate, she asked, "Gray, can you remove the ice from Lucy's arm temporarily? You may create a cast once I'm finished."

Lucy's loopy thoughts and improved mood let Cobra know his concoction had already taken effect. Her head lolled to the side to look directly as him and she whispered, "You're so sneaky." Her small giggle did strange things to him.

He looked away embarrassed, only to see Sorano eying him specutively. He narrowed his eyes are her, but it was too late. She had seen the interaction and would tell Meredy, who would tell Midnight, and then Cobra would never hear the end of it. He did _not_ have a crush on the Fairy Tail mage, no matter what Sorano believed.

Not one to waste time, Erza set Lucy's arm as soon as the ice was removed. The sickening snap of bone made Cobra's stomach twist. Lucy jerked and looked up at him as if for comfort, but he didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do. Between the numbness left behind from the ice and the effects of Cobra's poison, the pain Lucy felt was muted and she quickly forgot about it. Gray's ice cast reformed and Lucy cooed at it. "My arm is so heavy now." She giggled and looked at Cobra, "Look, I have a popsicle arm!"

The unwanted attention was embarrassing. He knew he was blushing all the way up to his ears and refused to look at his guildmates, knowing they were staring at him. He could hear their souls buzzing with curiousity.

Erza's concern was clear when she said, "It seems her concussion is more severe than we believed. Cobra, please move Lucy to the shade until we are prepared to move the group to a secure location for the night."

With a grunt of acknowledgement, he was relieved to get away from the others as he rolled Lucy's gurney across the ground to the shaded area on the other side of the canyon. Her giggling continued on and off as she enjoyed the bumpy ride, only settling down when the movement stopped. Cobra's magic warned him how weird she was about to get, but he didn't know what to do to stop it. Well, he could knock her out but that would probably be unsafe with a concussion already in place.

"I'm glad you're here. I've been thinking about you, even though you're a prickly pear." She giggled again, imagining a pear with thorns and maroon hair. She had the weirdest fucking imagination. Cobra was glad the only other person with better than normal hearing was unconscious so there would be no witnesses to the stream of weird shit pouring from her mouth.

It disturbed him deeply to know she had been thinking about him because he had been thinking about her, too. A lot. As in nearly every day. He didn't understand why he couldn't get her out of his head. The day he forced his way into her apartment so long ago was the beginning of something he wasn't sure he liked. His tangled web of confusion was made worse by the shock he felt at discovering she was attracted to him, though it seemed she wasn't fully aware of it. Her soul showed memories of her thinking about the features of his face and aspects of his personality that had shown through during the brief time he spent in her apartment when Midnight was injured. What the fuck was he supposed to do with this information? It was surely something she would have kept buried deep if she were in her right mind.

"Your hair is so pretty!" Lucy cooed at him as she attempted to sit up to reach his hair.

"Stop that." He shoved her back down, taking care not to jostle her arm. Tears formed in her eyes as she stared at him while wishing she could touch his hair. Her thoughts were all over the place where he was concerned, but at the forefront of it all, she really wanted to see if his hair was soft.

With an irritated growl, he said, "Fine, here." While leaning down he added, "Just stop trying to get up."

Cooing again, she said, "Ooo it's so soft! It would be shiny too if you used my deep conditioner. Maybe next time you come over I'll give your hair a treatment." He didn't know what the fuck she was talking about but he did not like the image her mind conjured of him being the victim of her salon-style services.

"Never gonna happen. And why the hell would I come over to your apartment again?"

She giggled again, "Duh, silly. You're coming over to teach me how to bake properly. Remember? I can't bake brownies that live up to your standard of exemplary confectionary treats." Her voice deepened at the end, imitating his in a word for word quote of something he'd said during their first conversation.

"Right." He couldn't think of anything else to say. She was out of her mind on his poison. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea.

Before he could wrap his mind around her comments, he felt her take hold of his wrist and pull his sleeve up. He barely contained his instinct to jerk away from the touch of another, which likely would have dumped her onto the ground. "What the hell are you doing now?"

"Are you ok? Your wrists and ankles, are they better?" Her memory replayed the moment she realized she knew the man secured to the wall. In her memory, he saw how gaunt he looked chained to a wall, emaciated from dehydration and starvation, covered in bruises and cuts. The sight haunted her for weeks, giving her nightmares that woke her in terror, always leaving her lying awake for long periods of time thinking about him and wondering if he was ok.

Her concern for his wellbeing touched something dark and cold inside him, leaving behind a tenderness he didn't know how to handle. After a moment he said, "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt."

Lucy's thumb rubbed back and forth over the scarred skin, wondering if he could feel it. He answered her thoughts, "There's not much feeling in the skin."

"That's probably a good thing." She let her hand fall, her inebriated mind drifting onto another topic. He was both disappointed and relieved, a reaction that added to his confusion.

"I think Natsu saved me." Lucy said sleepily.

"He did." And he had. The other slayer was close enough to consciousness now for Cobra to pull the events leading up to the collapse from his mind. Natsu had pushed Lucy out of the way, nearly sacrificing his life to save hers. The stone that hit him instead of her would have killed a normal human. Only his dragon slayer ability to heal quickly and the jut of stone the two rolled under had saved their lives.

It was silent for a moment, giving Cobra a false sense of hope that Lucy had fallen asleep. He was wrong.

He jumped in shock when her fingers touched his ear lobe. "I love your earrings. Did you just get them pierced? I don't remember you wearing an earring before. Ooo you just have one! I should get my ear pierced on the opposite side to match!" And then she proceeded to giggle hysterically while imagining Cobra piercing her ear with a sewing needle and an apple like some movie she'd seen. What the hell was he supposed to do with her?

"Alright, enough of that." He said as he slapped her hand away from his ear, doing his best to ignore the tingly sensation left behind. "I'm taking you back to your people."

When he started pushing her across the uneven ground, she started crying and said, "Please stop. Can you carry me? My head hurts again."

"No." There was no way he would carry her around like a small child.

"Please" she whimpered with tears streaking from her eyes into her hair. Her eyelids were squeezed shut in an attempt to block out the bright sunlight that glared in her eyes now that they were out of the shade and he could hear the pain radiating from her soul. When the fuck had he started caring?

"Damn it woman," he sighed in frustration. "Sit up slowly and I'll help you onto my back."

Cobra helped her upright and then squatted down to make it easier for Lucy to slide onto his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, draped her injured arm over his shoulder to dangle in the front while she wrapped her other arm around his neck to hold on. Once she was settled in place with her head resting against his, he stood up and started walking toward the group.

A whispered "much better" came from Lucy's lips before she fully relaxed against him. He ignored the way her thighs felt in his hands, lean and muscular with smooth skin. Her soul rang with a sense of contentment that he couldn't tune out with her being physically in contact with him. He could hear her much more clearly than before and wasn't sure he liked it.

More of her pollution was entering his mind. He'd never get her out now.

It didn't take long to cross the narrow gorge to the group of mages still gathered near the site of Natsu and Lucy's entrapment. The dragon slayer was awake, though not yet fully cognizant. Natsu's poor condition was made clear when he looked at the approaching pair and only glared instead of challenging Cobra to a fight for touching his precious Lucy. With Cobra's magic, he could tell Natsu had every intention of doing so when he was functional again.

The group had already agreed to stay overnight at the camp set up by Crime Sorciere and planned to head there as soon as the injured mages could be moved. Cobra was about to inform the boss bitch he would just carry Lucy there when he picked up on the thoughts coming from Sorano and Meredy.

He looked at the pair and narrowed his eyes, clearly hearing the two of them imagining him and Lucy together, a budding romance that would lead to babies and houses with picket fences and pets. "What the fuck are you two looking at?" He snarled at the women.

Meredy looked away but Sorano shrugged with a devious smile on her face and opened her mouth to speak, but Cobra cut her off. "If you speak those words out loud, I will poison your feathered ass and bury you alive in a location so remote no one will find you before your skin starts to melt and -."

A sharp pinch at his neck cut him off before his threat could get more graphic. Lucy's muffled voice came from where she'd smashed her face into his neck, "Don't be mean to your friends."

"Those bitches aren't friends of mine." He snarled, wishing he could bring himself to drop her on the ground.

When she pinched him again, he snarled louder with his pointed canines exposed, but Lucy was unperturbed. "You don't scare me prickly pear, and they aren't bitches. Be nice."

Cobra stalked away from the group with the bane of his life attached to his back. He could hear the two women behind him whispering about Lucy being the one to tame the wild beast. What the fuck were they even talking about? They'd pay for this later.

He ignored Erza's protests as he gained distance from the group. She would know where he was headed as soon as someone explained it to her in small words. He couldn't very well fly over the giant pile of rocks like Happy had done, so he had to take his injured cargo the long way around.

He felt Lucy rub her nose against his neck just before she mumbled, "You smell nice."

It was going to be a long fucking walk.

**…**

When he finally made it to the camp, Cobra was exhausted both mentally and physically. Mostly mentally. Loopy Lucy was hard to deal with. He didn't even feel guilty for being relieved that she got quiet when her pain returned. It was a little concerning that she was close to losing consciousness, though. Wasn't that a sign her concussion was severe? He could still hear her soul and it sounded normal enough, so she may have just been falling asleep.

The return trip had taken much longer than his mad dash to the site of the rock slide. With that side of the canyon closed off, they had to take the long way around, walking out of the narrow canyon and around to the valley on the other side. The route nearly tripled the distance and he had extra weight on his back, so his pace was slower than usual.

His problem now was where to put the woman. She wasn't going in his tent. If she laid in there, her scent would be all over everything and he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. The others' tents were also out of the question. Jellal would be sharing with Erza, Sorano and Meredy's shared tent was full, and Midnight's tent was often visited by Meredy during the night. Cobra had a dark sense of humor, but he wouldn't subject Lucy to the horror of Midnight and Meredy.

He didn't have to think much more on the issue when he felt an odd, familiar stirring in Lucy's soul, and then a pink haired maid appeared. That explained the familiarity. Sorano's soul stirred the same way when she did Celestial Magic.

The maid bowed to him, which was really fucking weird, and said, "Would you like to punish me since my Princess is unavailable?"

"Uh, no." He definitely didn't want any part of what the maid was imagining.

The spirit nodded once as she said, "Very well. May I proceed with setting up a tent for my Princess?"

Cobra shrugged, unsure why she was directing her questions at him. Maybe she needed permission before beginning? He didn't know how the celestial shit worked. He wished Lucy would wake up and take over. Instead, she just kept hanging onto his back in her half asleep state while he stood awkwardly with this crazy, pain-loving spirit. "Whatever, lady. Knock yourself out."

In a whirlwind of activity almost too fast to follow, a patch of ground was cleared of all debris, the grass mowed to a lawn-like height, and a dark blue tent erected. It was a nice one, too, with solid-looking sides and flaps that could be opened to allow for airflow with screens to keep out insects. Nothing like the piece of shit tents his guild used for travel. It also smelled strange, the same way the spirits did, so maybe it was a tent from the Celestial plane?

Another familiar spirit appeared before him. The lamb lady squeaked, "I'm so sorry! Big brother pushed me through my gate using his own magic so I could create comfortable bedding for Lucy. Please forgive me!"

With that strange introduction, a wool bed, much like the one he'd slept on in Lucy's apartment, appeared inside the tent. At the request of the maid spirit, the lamb lady created another before disappearing. It seemed the maid somehow knew Natsu was also injured.

Tasks apparently complete, the maid looked at Cobra and said, "Please give our Princess Leo's apologies. He cannot force his gate open to care for her since he used his magic to force Aries' gate open. He will check on her later."

After a puzzled moment, he answered briefly, "Right." Then the spirit popped away and things were mostly silent.

With the question of sleeping arrangements answered, he carried Lucy into the tent and knelt down in front of one of the pink mattresses. Luckily, she was aware enough to keep her body upright instead of just collapsing as he thought she might. He was careful to lay her on the side with her uninjured arm beneath her and the broken arm resting across her body against the soft surface. During the long walk, she had started to complain about her back and head aching. Cobra didn't want her to be more uncomfortable lying with her weight on all the bruises forming where her body had impacted the ground. From the bits and pieces he'd picked up from both Natsu and Lucy's memories, she had taken the brunt of the impact when Natsu knocked them both out of the way.

When Lucy was arranged, he turned to leave so he could slip away before the others arrived but he was stopped by a whispered voice. "Will you stay with me?"

Shit. He _really_ wanted to just keep walking and act as if he hadn't heard a word, but he couldn't leave when even her soul was reaching for him. Why the hell was her soul reacting to him like this? They hardly knew each other.

Grudgingly, he returned to her side and sat on the edge of her mattress. "Happy now?"

She hummed in response, her mind letting him know that yes, she was happy he came back. So fucking weird. No one was ever happy to have him around. There were lots of other emotions tied with his presence, things like anger, fear, disappointment, reluctant acceptance, but never happiness.

When she wondered if her back was bruised as badly as it felt, he said, "Yeah. From the part I can see where your tiny ass shirt ends, it's pretty messed up. There are scratches and shit mixed in with the bruising." He softly ran his fingers along her scalp until she hissed in pain when he touched the swelling at the back of her head. "You've got a nasty lump here, too."

_Can you give me more of whatever you gave me earlier?_

"No, I can't give you more of the poison right now. I don't know how bad your concussion is and I'm not going to be the one to blame for putting you in a coma."

_But the happy poison makes me feel better._

"Stop fucking calling it happy poison. Poison and happy should never be used in a sentence together."

Cobra huffed and rolled his eye at Lucy imagining him doing a happy dance when he found a strong poison to eat. "Ok, so maybe the words fit together in that situation, but not how you were using it. And, no, I don't dance when I find new poisons." Not much, anyway, but he wasn't admitting that to her.

_Where are the others? Is Natsu ok?_

"They'll be here soon. They stayed at the collapse long enough to start a fire to feed the dragon slayer so he could heal faster but they're on their way now. From what I can tell, he's got a headache and fatigue from blood loss but nothing serious."

_Will you stay until they get here?_

"No fucking way am I staying until they get here. As soon as they're in sight of the tents, I'm leaving. Your team will take care of you."

He didn't like the twinge of guilt he felt at her disappointment. It didn't make any sense for her to want him there when she had a team of capable individuals who would take care of her. She didn't know it yet, but the boss bitch had already called Makarov to send the little dragon slayer out to heal Lucy. She would be fully healed as soon as tomorrow and out of his life again. He shoved down the sorrow he felt at that until it was buried somewhere deep inside him, in the place he put all his useless emotions

The two were silent for awhile. Lucy's mind was a jumble of pain, so she wasn't up for much conversation and Cobra didn't want to talk anyway. He just sat there, sifting through her subconscious like he always did to people in his spare time. No one in Crime Sorciere had any secrets from him. They spent too much time together for his nosy ass to not go through all their thoughts and feelings. It was nice having a new soul to pick through. Lucy's pain kept her mind distracted and she was at ease with Cobra - probably not a good thing on her part – so it was easy to gain access to everything. She had some interesting shit in there he hadn't heard when she'd been trapped in the clock. During the time he stood guard over her, he went through all her internal shit out of boredom. Now there were new things to pick through.

Cobra took his time looking at her feelings towards her guildmates- all happy love-love shit like he expected-, her lingering grief over losing her parents and closest spirit, her life goals, her determination to improve in all things and be a good person. Her soul still felt the same as it did back then, bright and cheery with a peaceful melody as the undertone, but there was something new. It was something he felt like he should recognize, the familiarity so similar to -

Horrified, he stood abruptly and left the tent, ignoring Lucy questioning if everyone was nearly there. Not really, but they were close enough. He had to get out of there and put some distance between them while he thought about this.

…

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally alone in her tent. She loved knowing so many people cared for her but they were overwhelming.

She had to feign sleep to get Erza to leave her in peace. The woman was an amazing friend and teammate, but she was an overbearing nurse. She provided medical care with the same intensity she did everything else. Between Erza and Virgo, Lucy had been bathed, dressed in clean clothes, forced to drink some water and fed a bowl of broth. She wasn't sure if she felt better or worse after their attention. At least she had a real cast, thanks to Virgo's awesome Celestial medical supplies, instead of the ice cast. Gray's magically formed cast was great in an emergency but that thing was cold and heavy.

Once Lucy was settled again, Gray created long lasting ice chips that Erza wrapped in a towel to rest against the back of Lucy's head. As long as she didn't move much, the ice stayed in place against her head while she lay on her side. It was doing wonders for the swelling. Nurse Erza's last proclamation before leaving Lucy to fake-sleep in peace was that she was no longer in danger of a coma. Thank the stars. Maybe now Lucy would be able to talk Cobra into giving her more of the happy poison – a name she was keeping, regardless of his opinion.

If not, she'd be stuck suffering until Wendy arrived. If Lucy were lucky, though the nickname Lucky Lucy Heartfilia was always more of a curse, the tiny healer would get to the camp in the morning. Unfortunately, it was more likely she would arrive later in the day with the train station being so far away, so Lucy was in for at least 24 more hours of agony. She wished she had the accelerated healing abilities of a dragon slayer. Her best friend was nearly well after only a short rest, the fire he'd consumed fueled his magic enough to stimulate the rapid healing aspect of his magic. If only it could do something about his poor hygiene.

At least Natsu's smelly body was no longer in the tent. Virgo provided a clean outfit for him but he refused her help in bathing, insisting he could bathe when he got home. Shortly after that disgusting statement, he had been kicked out of the medical ward, as named by Erza, when he and Gray nearly started to brawl over his lack of cleanliness. The two had too much pent up energy, which Erza violently recommended they put into hunting something for dinner. Lucy was fairly sure the two were working off their nerves in another way, but she wasn't going to mention it to Erza.

Lucy again wondered how she could convince Cobra to slip her a little more of his poisonous concoction but wasn't sure he would be willing to subject himself to the torture again. Her memories of the time she spent intoxicated on Cobra's fumes were hazy, but she was fairly certain he was avoiding her because she had embarrassed him. She vaguely remembered telling Sorano that she called him a prickly pear because he was pokey on the outside but sweet on the inside. Even she was a little embarrassed at having said it, so she didn't blame him for avoiding her.

Strangely, she knew he was nearby. Very near, actually. It was like she could feel him just outside her tent, leaning against a tree or something else supportive, hiding from everyone else. That didn't make sense, though. There was no way she could know all of that. It wasn't as if she was the one that could hear souls.

Unless she could be learning a new magic? That would be awesome! But it didn't really any sense. She hadn't studied the magic and didn't see a direct correlation between Soul Listening and Celestial Summoning, so it was unlikely she could learn the other magic without great effort. So maybe this was part of his magic? Was it possible for him to create a link between his and other souls to communicate? She had to test this out.

Lucy focused on the awareness she had of Cobra and the almost-knowledge of his nearness. She could feel something like dread, but wasn't sure if that was right. She wasn't dreading anything, just in a lot of pain.

_Cobra?_

She didn't hear an answer in her head or her ears, so that didn't work like she hoped it would. Though she thought maybe her head injury was affecting her brain in more ways than everyone assumed since she was attempting to be telepathic. Even with her doubts, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was onto something. One more try and then she would write this off as the crazy thoughts of a concussed person.

An odd sense of dread and wonder filled her for reasons she couldn't explain. One thing she was certain of, there was something here and she was going to figure it out.

This time, she tried reaching out with emotion instead of thought. There wasn't a good explanation for why she went that route. It was just instinct to feel for the connection she sensed with Cobra instead of trying to read his thoughts.

Sinking into a meditative state was easy since she practiced her magic this way. As the sense of calm nothingness spread, she was able to relax into herself while expanding her awareness. Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she felt something, felt him. It was a connection, a direct line between her soul and his. She couldn't see it, but her intuition told her that's what it was. Again working off instinct, she attempted to send an emotion down the connection. She pushed out curiosity and immediately felt dread in return.

Moments later, the tent flap opened with a loud slap as it hit the side, jerking her out of her meditation. The abrupt return to reality made Lucy jump, sending a jolt through her arm and head. A gasp of pain left her mouth as the intruder stomped over to her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Cobra demanded in a low voice. He'd managed to make it inside with no one seeing him but they would be back to check on the blonde soon enough.

Lucy squinted up at him and blinked a few times to clear her vision. It took a few seconds for the pain to ease back to a manageable level. When she could speak, the only sound that came out was, "Huh?"

Cobra took a few breaths in through his nose, out through his mouth. He had to calm down. Panic and anger were a bad combination. This wasn't a big deal. The blonde was delirious with pain, so maybe if he drugged her again, she wouldn't remember any of this. Maybe if he kept her drugged until they left, she wouldn't notice the connection and would eventually be far enough away to diminish it. Or that's what he hoped anyway. It wasn't like he had any previous experience to base that on.

"You wanted me to come get you fucked up again, yeah?" He asked, hoping to distract her from her discovery.

She narrowed her eyes at him, doing her best to think through the haze of pain in her mind. She had been onto something, something related to Cobra. That's when she felt it again, the sense of dread – an emotion that was coming from him.

"No."

Expression scrunched in confusion, Cobra said, "You don't?"

"No poison. Not until you explain what this is." She said, motioning between them with her good arm. He could tell from her hard expression and the determination emanating from her soul that she was serious. She planned to refuse his offer of pain relief until he explained.

Cobra plopped down onto the mattress next to Lucy's, a puff of ash and sweat scented air floating up from the soft wool. He huffed, "Well, shit."

"I think I said that to you the first time we talked." Lucy said with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

He nodded in acknowledgement, remembering the time she referred to but unsure what to say. The truth was he didn't really know anything about his magic. It was a rare magic and he'd never met anyone else that had it. He wasn't really sure if there _was_ anyone else that had it. He might be the only one alive.

"I don't have much of an explanation for you." He started weakly, staring at the ground so he wouldn't have to look at her. "I don't know much about my magic but I know this is a soul bond or soul link, whatever the fuck you want to call it. You could probably ask the Seith Mage in your guild about it if you want a better explanation."

Lucy mulled that over in her mind before asking, "Ok, but how did it happen?"

Cobra shrugged and said, "I don't know. We connected somehow, I guess. Probably through the shared trauma of our few encounters. Trauma can bring people together, and with my Soul Listening magic involved, the connection created must be a little different."

The joy he felt coming from her in waves was perplexing. Didn't she get it? They were fucking connected now. Her next words confirmed she definitely fit in at Fairy Tail. "Well, that's not so bad. We're friends, so this connection is a good thing!"

"No, we're not friends. Fucked up situations that lead to helping each other out does not qualify us as friends." He detested the idea to his very core. He didn't need or want friends, or anyone else to look out for. It was bad enough that he thought about her when she wasn't around. This soul deep connection would just make that way fucking worse and he didn't need that shit while he was out chasing down dark guilds to make up for his own past crimes.

Her hand resting on his knee made his reeling thoughts come to a stop. He looked up to see her watching him with concern in her eyes. "It'll be alright. This connection isn't a bad thing."

What the hell did she know? And why was she touching him? He pulled his knee away from her hand, letting it fall away. He didn't want to be connected to anyone. Everyone he'd ever cared about was gone, except his guildmates, but those relationships were dysfunctional in ways he couldn't begin to describe.

How could being connected to someone like Lucy Heartfilia, the Light of Fairy Tail, not be a bad thing? They were polar opposites. He doubted her words, but part of him wanted to agree with her. Would it be so bad not to be alone?

"You won't be alone anymore." Well, that answered his question. This was really fucking bad. Now she was picking up on his thoughts, which could not lead to anything good. His mind was a dark place that would taint someone like her.

With that horrible realization, he sent a large amount of the pain relieving toxin into the air without warning the blonde. She passed out almost instantly as the pain dissipated and she could finally relax. She would have to forever remain The Blonde in his mind to maintain a sense of distance between them, or he might start enjoying having a connection with her.


	4. Chapter 4

The popcorn was buttered and waiting in a bowl on the low table in front of the TV while a cake was cooling in the kitchen. Lucy expected to hear the window slide open at any moment, announcing the arrival of her partner. It had been too long since they hung out one on one, so she was looking forward to the next few hours.

Soon after she finished frosting the cake, she heard the thump of a window being shoved roughly into the frame followed by the thud of feet landing on the floor. "Hiya, Luce! Got anything to eat?"

"Don't I always?" She answered as she used her toes to pry the refrigerator door open, leaving her hands free to continue making their drinks. "There's some leftover chicken in here if you want to eat before we start the movie."

"Yosh!" Natsu shouted while pumping a fist into the air. He dove for the chicken and devoured the entire cold bird in seconds. When Lucy said 'leftover', she meant the extra chicken she'd bought and cooked just for Natsu, knowing he would be hungry. She learned long ago that remaining Natsu's partner would mean rethinking the way she shopped for groceries and prepared meals.

With his stomach bulging, Natsu flopped onto Lucy's couch and patted the small section of cushion left open for her. "Come on, slow poke. Let's get this movie started."

Lucy placed their drinks on the table then sat on the other side of the couch and propped her feet on Natsu's stomach, which meant he felt he should rest his feet next to her head on the armrest. His feet smelled like he hadn't washed them in ages. "Natsu! When is the last time you cleaned between your toes?!" As she shoved his feet away, she exclaimed, "Or clipped your toenails?!"

"I dunno. You usually do that for me." He shrugged, not bothering to look at her as he worked the remote to get the movie playing.

"Disgusting. That means it's been several months." Lucy nearly gagged as the thought settled in. She rolled to her feet and said, "Scoot into the couch more. We're both facing this way or you can lay on the floor."

"Eh, fine with me." Natsu slid back as far as the back pillows would allow then lifted an arm to let Lucy settle in. She was relieved he smelled like deodorant, so he'd probably showered recently. Or maybe just reapplied, but she wasn't going to complain when this end of him didn't stink. He was warm and comfortable, like a best friend shaped body pillow.

The movie played but Lucy didn't pay much attention to it. The popcorn falling on her as Natsu reached across her to eat from the large bowl was ignored. She was distracted by the echo of feelings she was experiencing that weren't her own, predominantly boredom with a little frustration underneath. Wondering if it would make a difference, she tried pushing a little of what she was feeling, content and relaxed, through the connection. It seemed to work, because the frustration eased and was followed by a sense of relief, but her triumph was cut short. A flash of irritation burst into her and the connection abruptly ended. Not gone, exactly, but muted to the point Lucy couldn't feel the echo of emotion, only the knowledge the connection still existed.

"Lucy," Natsu said, sounding concerned. He pinched her waist to get her attention. "What's going on with you?"

Startled, Lucy focused her mind back on her surroundings, realizing Natsu had said her name several times. "Sorry, Natsu. I was in my own world, I guess."

"I noticed. You've been doing that a lot lately." A moment of silence pressed down before he asked, "Are you going to talk to me about it now?"

Guilt wormed its way into Lucy's heart. Natsu had been her best friend for years, with the two of them only growing closer as time went on. When he returned after disappearing to train for a year, it took awhile to rebuild the trust between them, but they were better for it now, more like family than friends. She didn't keep secrets from him, especially not things as big as this, and he didn't keep them from her.

Lucy paused the movie and sat up, feeling like this conversation was more of a face to face type subject. "I'll tell you about it, but I'm not sure I can explain it very well. I don't really understand any of it myself." She stalled by pulling at her tank top to loosen the popcorn bits stuck to the fabric.

She could feel his eyes on her as she flicked away the last of the crumbs and then turned to face him. "You know how Cobra and I have helped each other out of some difficult situations?" Natsu nodded, his brows furrowed a bit as his concern increased. Lucy continued, "Well, somehow those things connected us."

"Ok," Natsu started, sounding confused. "So, y'all are friends. That's great, but what does that have to do with why you're being such a weirdo?"

Lucy sighed, dreading the next part of the explanation. It didn't make any sense to her. How was she going to explain it to her thick skulled friend? "The connection isn't like a normal bond of friendship, like what you and I share, or anyone else for that matter. It's a soul bond, or maybe a soul link, I haven't found much info on it so I'm not sure what to call it. Basically, the two of us are linked together so deeply that we feel echoes of the others' soul. It's probably not unusual for him because of his magic, but I've never felt anyone else's soul before. It's unlike anything I've experienced."

Natsu nodded slowly, obviously processing the information. "So, you can read his mind and stuff?"

Lucy snorted, remembering when she tried to do exactly that when she first noticed the connection. "No, nothing like that. Well, he can probably hear my thoughts since he hears everyone else's but I can't hear his. I just get impressions of what he's feeling."

"So, what's he feeling right now?"

With a shrug, Lucy said, "I don't know. It's closed off right now, so I'm not feeling anything. I'm not sure how he does it, but sometimes he shuts it down. I'm pretty sure he hates having it."

"Makes sense." Natsu said easily, as if he understood the entire situation better than Lucy. "The guy doesn't seem like he's ever had friends before. Other than his guildmates anyway, but they're all a bunch a weirdos. The really weird kind, not your kind of weird. He probably doesn't know how to have a friend like you."

The simple wisdom of his words blew Lucy's mind. It made so much sense. How had she not seen this earlier? Cobra had no idea _how_ to be friends with someone. Mix in the soul deep connection they shared and he was probably way out of his league.

"I think you're right! How did I not figure this out on my own?"

"Duh, that's because I'm the smart one." Natsu said with complete confidence, as if he truly believed it.

A snort slipped from Lucy as she said, "Yeah, sometimes you are."

"So are you done being a dumb girl?" He asked as he threw himself back down and moved around until he was comfortable. He pulled Lucy back to where she had been lying earlier, clearly finding her as comfortable as she found him. "Because I want to finish watching the movie before everyone else gets here."

"Everyone? Who's everyone?" She should have known.

The door to her apartment burst open as Gray, Erza and Happy entered.

Happy whined loudly, "Why didn't you wait for me Natsu?" At the same moment, Gray grabbed one of Natsu's ankles to jerk him off the couch as he said, "Get outta the way, ash mouth. I want to cuddle with Lucy."

Before the boys could throw any punches, Erza caught them both around the neck and smashed them against her armor-plated chest. "Now, boys, we are going to have a nice evening full of bonding as a team. Both of you will behave in your places on the floor. I will be sharing the couch with Lucy. It would be improper for either of you to cuddle with her."

"Come on, Erza, you just want to get a spot on the couch." Natsu groaned.

Gray stomped on his foot and whispered, "Shut up, idiot, before you get us both thrown out."

"Listen to Gray, Natsu. He won't steer you wrong." Erza advised as she roughly patted both boys' heads before releasing them. The two glared at each other but took their places seated between the couch and small table. Half the popcorn was flung from the bowl as the two played tug of war while arguing over who got to hold it, until they decided they would sit close enough together to each hold half the bowl.

In a flash of magic, Erza requipped into pajamas and grabbed the remote then joined Lucy on the couch. Happy settled against Lucy's stomach where he could be comfortable while using his tail to steal popcorn from the bowl.

Lucy loved her team, even if they were all nuts.

…

Lucy could barely contain her excitement. He was coming. She could feel it in her soul, literally. With each passing hour as Crime Sorciere came closer to Magnolia, Lucy could feel a strong awareness of Cobra. She still couldn't hear his thoughts, which she figured was probably a good thing, but his soul's presence within her had grown to the point of almost feeling like they were in the same room. It didn't even matter that Cobra had clamped down on his end of the bond when he got irritated with her excitement. Prior to him closing down the link, she felt his hopeful trepidation, so she knew he wasn't fully dreading seeing her either. She had every intention of forcing him to admit they were friends.

A large hand clamped over her mouth before she could make a noise. Bickslow whispered, "Shhh, Cosplayer. They're going to look up if you keep squealing."

The devious pair hid high up in the rafters seated on a platform created by Bickslow's babies while they waited to see the outcome of their most epic prank.

She pulled on his wrist until he released her face and whispered, "Sorry, I'm just excited."

He jabbed her playfully and said, "I noticed. Is it because our amazing plan is working out perfectly or because you're looking forward to seeing a certain someone?"

Shocked, she looked at him with wide eyes. "How did you know?"

For a quick second, Bicklow's eyes flashed green with his magic as he said in a dramatic, spooky voice, "I see everything."

After she rolled her eyes, he went on at a whisper, "Seriously, though, I've known for weeks. I saw the link between your soul and another right after it happened. Who is it, anyway?"

Seeing a perfect opportunity to tease one of the biggest teases she knew, she said, "Your all-seeing magic has its limits? Then I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

"Oh, it's on. You've been keeping secrets, Cosplayer, and secrets don't make friends. Especially big ones like this. If I had known you were looking for something serious, I would have made a play for you a long time ago." He winked at her playfully.

"Don't worry, I'm not off the market." She flirted back. "There's nothing serious, just a weird thing that happened."

"Good to know." He said casually, though his mind was racing. Her words didn't match up with the link he could see in her soul. Either she was lying, which he didn't think was the case, or she had no idea what was going on. They would need to have a talk sooner than later.

Their conversation was cut off as Mira headed up the stairs, meaning the climactic moment was near. The Lightning Dragon Slayer had pissed off Bickslow on their last mission, insulting the Seith Mage's babies one too many times. This was his payback.

The pranksters had raided Master Makarov's meat-beating stash, pulling free every swimsuit edition featuring Mira Jane and laid them casually on Laxus' desk, knowing the woman cleaned the offices every Friday. She was right on schedule as she headed into Laxus' office. They'd gone above and beyond by mixing up a questionable-looking substance to leave smeared on some of the pages.

A loud shriek filled the air followed by Mira stomping out of the office, fully transformed into her Satan Soul. When she reached the rail of the landing, her voice was a register lower as she demanded, "Laxus Dreyer, what is this?"

She held up a center fold of her in a cute, mint green bikini that barely contained her full figure. The page unfolded slowly, held together by the sticky substance. When the last portion of the page finally unfolded, a drop of wetness fell down to the first floor landing with an audible splat.

Laxus looked up at Mira Jane, expression frozen in horrified shock. "Where the hell did you get that?"

"In your office. It was lying on the stack of reports you should have completed hours ago. Maybe you were too busy doing _other things_ when you were supposed to be working?" Power emanated from the woman in her rage. The guild was completely silent, staring at the scene to see how it would play out.

The guilty pair giggled a little too loudly. Every dragon slayer in the room looked up to see the two hiding on their platform. Laxus narrowed his eyes, shouting, "Bickslow!" with a sound like thunder.

"Uh oh, Cosplayer. I think you should jump. He's about to attack." Without further warning, Bickslow shoved Lucy off the platform and flew out of a window on his babies. Her terrified squeal of delight pierced the guild as she fell from such a tall height. Hardly anyone was surprised when she landed safely inside a large clock.

"Just in the nick of time, Miss Lucy." The sound of bells reverberated off the walls of the guildhall as the dust cleared from the clock's arrival.

Lucy popped out from inside the clock and smiled brightly as she said, "Thanks a bunch, Horologium."

Laxus disappeared with a clap of thunder at nearly the same moment the clock went back to the Celestial World. Lucy hoped Bickslow had gained enough of a head start to get away from the angry Dragon Slayer. She wasn't sure their prank would be worth the trouble if he ended up in a serious brawl with Laxus, but Bickslow might feel differently.

In her usual cheery voice, Mira said, "Well, that explains it," and turned to walk back into Laxus' office to clean as if nothing had happened.

The guild was suddenly roaring with laughter. All the mages were talking excitedly about the spectacle brought about by Lucy and Bicklow's prank, taking bets on if Bickslow would survive the night.

It was then that Lucy felt it again, the nearness of the soul she was linked to. She turned to look at the entrance and saw a group of mages standing in the doorway. "They're here!" She shouted, alerting all of Fairy Tail that it was time to party.

When Mira and Lisanna found out Crime Sorciere was visiting Fairy Tail, they planned a celebration to welcome the mages. The guildhall was full as everyone waited on the arrival of the group. Alcohol was off limits until the visitors arrived, so now the party could start in earnest.

Cobra couldn't believe the sight he'd just witnessed. He was fairly certain his heart stopped when he watched the Seith Mage shove Lucy off a platform that had to be at least 20 feet in the air. To top it off, she'd laughed the whole way down. What the fuck was wrong with these people? Though he had to admit, that prank was epic. He'd been listening in to see how it played out and was glad he gotten to watch the demon's reaction with his own eye.

The crazy woman plaguing his life now had a huge smile plastered on her face, which she was directing at him while waving wildly and walking in their direction. Did she expect him to wave back? Not fucking happening.

Meredy seemed to think the smile and wave were meant for her, so she returned the gestures and stepped forward to hug Lucy. "It's so good to see you again! Looks like you healed up nicely."

"Yep! I feel great!" Lucy turned to the group, arm in arm with Meredy, and said, "Come inside, guys! We're partying tonight in your honor. You can't just hang out here in the doorway."

"I thought Fairy Tail's party never stopped." Midnight mumbled but allowed her to pull him forward with her other arm linked through his. Though Midnight acted unaffected, Cobra could hear how glad he was to feel welcomed into the guildhall.

Lucy laughed lightly as she said, "Well, it doesn't. But today we're partying in honor of you guys, so you have to join in." The trio walked toward the bar with Jellal following shortly after, though he veered off in a different direction once he spotted Erza.

Cobra was relieved the bright ray of sunshine had left him in peace. He wasn't ready to mingle with the crazies, yet. Maybe later after he'd consumed enough liquor to feel a buzz, meaning he'd need to quickly down a full bottle of something at least 100 proof to overload his blood stream with too much alcohol for his magic to process it into poison.

Sorano nudged his side and said quietly, "You really gonna let your lady walk away like that?"

Before he could say more than "fuck off", she walked away in the direction of Gray and Natsu, her intentions clear. The three hit it off when the two teams shared camp weeks ago and were probably going to pick up where they left off back then.

Not sure of where else to go, Cobra walked slowly to the far end of the bar hoping no one would take notice of him. When he was seated on a bar stool far from everyone else, he didn't have to wait long for Kinana to appear. "Hello, Erik."

"Hey." He greeted lamely, unsure of what to say. What do you say to a person you used to be close to when she was snake, but no longer kept in contact with now that she was human? They had interacted a few times when his guild came in contact with Fairy Tail but their friendship was never reestablished.

Seeming to sense his unease, she asked, "You want something strong to drink?"

"That'd be great." He answered and she walked away. He wasn't sure, but thought he may have had some form of a soul bond with Kinana when she was Cubellios. There were remnants of something similar to the connection he felt with Lucy, though also not the same. Once Cubellios' curse was lifted and she became Kinana, whatever link existed had been severed permanently.

Kinana was only gone for a few seconds before returning with a large bottle of 100 proof absinthe. She walked away to serve other customers after he thanked her. He opened the top and chugged the liquor, eyes watering at the bitter burn. Absinthe was a nasty drink but strong enough to help him relax in the crowd. Halfway through the bottle, he stopped for a breather, looking around to see what was going on in the guild.

Money was being exchanged as the winners of the bet over Bickslow's return unharmed collected from the losers. The tall man was seated with his team leader and the two seemed to be getting along fine. Cobra could have informed all the betters of the outcome before so many mages became involved in a bad gamble but he enjoyed seeing the losers of the bet suffering. He'd heard Bickslow and Laxus apologizing to each other for the bullshit that led to the earlier craziness and then hugging like the good little fairies they were.

At another table, Meredy was laid across the top with Midnight doing body shots while Lucy cheered him on. They didn't waste any time around here. Midnight was pleasantly buzzed and on his way to drunk, while Lucy and Meredy both seemed sober. For now. Apparently, next it would be Meredy's turn to do body shots from Midnight. Cobra didn't want to see that. He already had no choice but to witness them licking each other's bodies on a regular basis.

Music played from speakers overheard and Cobra could her Gajeel considering going on stage to perform a song – something Cobra prayed would not happen while he was present – and convincing his Bunny Girl to dance with him. The image Gajeel's memory produced of Lucy in a bunny costume had Cobra reconsidering his earlier prayer of not witnessing the spectacle. Now that was something he'd like to see.

Everything seemed to be going alright. No one was bothering him and he was able to sip down the rest of the bottle at an easy pace while he watched the people around him get hammered. He was starting to think maybe Jellal's idea to come unwind at the Fairy Tail guildhall before continuing on their hunt for an up and coming dark mage hadn't been such a bad idea.

Until he spotted a pair of glowing green eyes.

Cobra had completely forgotten about the damn Seith Mage seeing souls, and the guy was staring right at his. As Cobra watched, Bickslow slowly turned his head, seeming to follow along something that led straight to Lucy. His head whipped back to stare at Cobra with a look of shock, and then the asshole laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more.

_Of course Lucy would create a soul bond with the biggest asshole she could find._

Yeah, pretty much exactly Cobra's thoughts on the matter. Bickslow lifted his glass in a toast to Cobra and directed his next thought at him.

_She'll be good for you._

Which Cobra answered with the universal gesture for 'fuck you'.

Bickslow just laughed more and looked away, getting the message that Cobra wanted to be left alone.

It wasn't until Lucy was only a few feet away from him that he realized he'd forgotten to keep a mental foot stomped on the link between them. She'd picked up on everything he felt over the last minute or so as their little problem was uncovered by the Seith Mage.

Thoughtful as ever, Lucy stepped around to the side with his good eye so she wasn't in his blind spot. Her shoulder bumped his as she said, "Hey."

He grunted in response, wishing he had more alcohol. The effects were already wearing off.

"I'll grab you another bottle if you'll come sit with us." Lucy offered with her shoulder still resting against his. He could tell she was a little on the tipsy side now and didn't seem to realize they were still in contact, the contact likely the reason she was picking up on his thoughts.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, noticing how good she looked with a slight flush to her cheeks and small smile on her lips. Her hair was pulled back in a halfway thing chicks did when they were dressed nice, and it suited her. She turned to look at him, her big brown eyes meeting his indigo, and then smiled wider, which was when he realized she'd picked up on all that. He mumbled a few curses under his breath and then held up the empty bottle saying, "Alright, but only if it's another one of these."

If he was going to embarrass himself all night, he might as well be drunk for it.

Lucy hopped up on the bar, exposing way more ass cheek than necessary, and crawled across to hop down on the other side. When she looked back at him and winked, he realized she'd picked up on that thought too, which meant she'd known he was going to look.

She walked a few feet down the aisle behind the bar, grabbed a bottle and then hopped back over properly – no cheek display this time. When she smiled deviously, he said, "I'm not used to this shit."

"I figured. You're pretty much an open book right now." She opened the bottle and took a swig before handing it to him, not trying to hide that she knew he would taste her lips on the rim. He tipped the bottle back and swallowed several times. "You sure you want to drink that so fast?" She asked with a look of concerned awe on her face. He was outdoing even the most seasoned of Fairy Tail.

When he pulled the bottle away, he said, "This is gonna be a fucked up night, so I might as well enjoy myself."

"Yeah, you should definitely enjoy yourself." She answered with a wicked grin. He wondered if his slightly intoxicated mind was messing with him or if she was actually flirting.

Lucy wrapped a hand around his upper arm and pulled him to his feet. "Come on. Time for you to hold up your end of the deal."

When he was standing, she squeezed his bicep a couple times and said, "Ooo, this is nice. So _big_ and _hard._"

Ok, she was definitely flirting, and drunk Lucy had a pervy mind. Pretty much par the course for Fairy Tail mages, but it was still surprising coming from the Celestial Mage. Well, two could play this game.

He leaned in closer to her and said, "I've got something else big and hard."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Her excitement came through loud and clear, with her imagination filling in the gaps in case he had any doubts about what she thought he was talking about.

He lifted the bottle and said, "This is big ass bottle is full of the hardest shit I've had in a long time."

Lucy threw her head back and laughed, her delight traveling across their connection and settling inside him. When she calmed down enough to speak, she asked, "So, you wanna have some fun tonight or be a stick in the mud?"

"Depends," He gave her a crooked grin and asked, "What's your idea of fun?"

Triumph clear in her voice, she said, "Don't worry about that. Just know you'll be satisfied."

This time it was his turn to cackle. This woman was wild when she got some alcohol in her system.

"Cana!" Lucy shouted, drawing the attention of the nearby mages. She kept her arm looped through Cobra's as she started walking him towards the more crowded area of the guild. "I think we need to break in our visitors!"

"Hell yeah, Lu! I've just been waiting on you!" Cana shouted back from her place slumped against a keg of beer. She hopped off the bar and sauntered toward them. "Let's see if they've got what it takes to hang with the Fairies."

Smiling up at Cobra, Lucy said, "Come on, my prickly pear. Let's see what you've got."

…

Cobra's only eye was burning, his body screaming at him to just blink so he could find relief, but he wouldn't do it. He was too competitive to lose at something as easy as a blinking contest. He'd rather lose his remaining vision than lose such a simple game.

Finally, after stretch of time that felt like hours, Lucy blinked. Cobra slapped the table and laughed as he said, "Fuck yeah, bitch! Drink up."

Lucy expressed her frustration in a dragon slayer-worthy growl as she snatched up the shot in front of her and threw it back with practiced ease. When she lowered her head and slammed the cup down, she looked at Cobra demanding, "Again."

He laughed evilly and turned her down. "Not gonna happen, sweet cheeks. I'm quitting while I'm ahead, ya know, finishing on top."

Lucy snorted and rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips as her irritation at losing faded away. They had been playing drinking games for what had to be hours. They'd played poker until Cana insisted the participants had to bet their clothing in the next round. Both ducked out of that round, knowing Cana was using her card magic to cheat and unwilling to get naked in the middle of the guildhall for Cana's entertainment. Then there had been a three legged race, which was a disaster of epic proportions with every team drunk. Tables and chairs had been broken, some because they were tripped over and others because they were thrown at competitors, and Cobra was sure there were a couple severe injuries that would be felt once the alcohol wore off. When the race was called off due to excessive damage to the guildhall, the mages had broken off into simple games like slapjack and staring contests, things extremely drunk people could still do.

Lucy walked around the table and linked her arm with Cobra's. "Come on you can walk me home." When he didn't follow along easily, she added. "If you don't do it then someone else will. It'll probably be Nab since he's always sober and I don't feel like being harassed about how to choose a good job request."

They were two of very few left standing after hours of partying, Nab being one of them. Most of the guild members had gone home. The rest were slumped over tables or lying on the floor sleeping off their drinks, watched over by the mostly sober individuals hanging around until morning.

Cobra started walking with her, hearing everything she didn't say about the guild sending chaperones when Lucy walked home late at night to ensure she wasn't abducted again. "Makes sense to have someone babysitting you. Picking you up was probably the easiest abduction we ever pulled off."

Lucy rolled her eyes, remembering when the former Neo Oracion Seis had kidnapped her for sacrifice. She groaned, "Ugh, you guys were such assholes. Especially Midnight, with his depressing 'I'll take over the world and make everyone's life a nightmare' spiel."

Cobra chuckled. "Yeah, a lot has changed," he said quietly, glad Lucy was able to joke about that situation. There were so many things she could and should hate him for, but here she was, hanging on his arm as he walked her home like they were good friends.

His doubts returned as they gained distance from the light atmosphere of the guild. They hardly knew each other but were soul bonded. He still didn't know what the fuck he was supposed to do about that or even how it happened. Before tonight, they'd had one real conversation, which only happened because Midnight nearly died, leaving Cobra and Lucy stuck in a small apartment with only each other as company for hours. All their earlier interactions consisted of his team trying to kill hers, and then abducting her with the intention of killing her, followed by his guildmates switching sides to fight in several battles with Fairy Tail against shared enemies. It wasn't like there was a foundation laid for a soul bond. Its existence still confused the hell out of him.

"You think too much." Lucy said, snapping Cobra's mind out of its wandering.

"Maybe you don't think enough." He said as he looked around, realizing they'd walked quite a distance as he was lost in thought. "Likely a side effect of spending so much time with the fire breather."

Lucy huffed quietly in amusement. "Natsu is smarter than everyone thinks, just not in a way many people can appreciate."

Cobra's snarky response was cut off by the memory he heard from Lucy's soul, giving him details of the conversation she and Natsu had about him. It was surprisingly insightful for such a dimwitted guy.

As they came to the canal just outside Lucy's apartment building, she pulled him to the ledge as she said, "Let's stop here for a minute. I want to sit under the stars before going inside."

It wasn't until she mentioned sitting under the stars that Cobra realized he could feel Lucy's magic recharging beneath the starlight. Her connection with the constellations representing her spirits had more impact on her magic than he'd known.

Lucy released her hold on Cobra's arm only long enough to sit down, and then immediately resumed contact with him. She wrapped both her arms around his, almost hugging it to her as she leaned against him with her head resting on his shoulder. The fog around her thoughts was a sign of how intoxicated she still was, which seemed to bring out her affectionate side. Cobra wasn't used to having anyone touching him at all, let alone leaning all over him.

"Stop worrying so much. It's not like I'm going to try to sleep with you." Lucy said in a tone that let him know she was rolling her eyes. After a second's hesitation, she added teasingly, "Unless you ask me to. Then I might."

Cobra huffed and leaned his head against hers, the gesture foreign but comfortable. "Your light shines too bright for somebody like me, Star Gazer. You don't need my shit in your life."

"Isn't that for me to decide?" She asked him, dropping the playfulness and becoming serious. "It's not like I'm expecting anything of you. I only want to be your friend."

Cobra grunted in response, unwilling to have the conversation. She wouldn't change his mind, no matter how strongly she felt on the subject. It was strange, but he could feel her feeling his emotions, sorting through them and figuring shit out in her head. She was too quick minded, even while drunk.

"Come on, let's get you home." He said as he pulled away from her and stood, helping her to her feet. His magic had nearly metabolized the alcohol, leaving him nearly sober while Lucy was still wobbling. He didn't need her falling into the water. Then he'd be forced to jump in to save a drowning drunk and he hated water.

She laughed and he realized a moment too late what she'd just learned. "You're scared of water? All water or just swimming?"

Irritated he grumbled, "No, I'm not fucking _scared_ of water. It's not like a glass of water will make me collapse into a fit of terror. I just don't like to swim."

Still laughing, she said, "I'd say you have more than just a dislike of swimming."

She was right but he wasn't going to admit it, even if she could likely pick up on the truth of her statement through their bond. "Whatever. At least I'm not scared of the dark."

"Hey, not all of us have magic that lets us know if the boogey man is hiding in the dark." She said in mock offense. As she pulled out her key to unlock the apartment door, she asked, "How'd you know that anyway? Just how deeply can you dig around in someone's mind?"

"I don't 'dig around' in minds." He said defensively. After Lucy went inside, he followed, though unsure why he was doing so. While she closed and locked the door, he considered how much to share with her about his magic. Knowing she would probably figure out most of it on her own, he decided to be honest. He sat down on the couch while Lucy went to get water from the kitchen. "I can't read minds. I hear souls and can usually pick up on thoughts associated with strong feelings. Some people are easy to hear, others are difficult. If a person is at peace internally, it's easier to figure out what they're thinking because there are less conflicting emotions to sort through. Trying to figure out what a fucked up person is thinking can give me a headache. It's like listening to music at a deafening volume."

Lucy silently joined him on the couch, handing a glass of water to him and waiting for him to go on, knowing there was more to explain. He sipped the water and then continued, "To answer your first question, it's pretty easy for me to pick up on your thoughts because we're bonded. Even before, it wasn't too hard because your mind and emotions are well managed. Knowing things like you being scared of the dark is as simple as understanding your subconscious reaction to darkness, even darkness as short lived as the moment before a light is turned on in a dark room. With time and practice, I've learned how to read and understand people's internal reactions."

Even with her inebriated mind working slower than usual, Lucy followed along with the explanation and seemed to file away the information for later when she could focus on it. Similar behavior was common in people of high intelligence, a label Cobra had applied to Lucy the first time he'd taken a peek into her soul.

The pair sat in silence while they rehydrated. Lucy kept her eyes closed and head leaned back as she sipped the glass of water. Cobra would have thought she was sleeping between sips if he didn't know her mind was still active. He allowed himself to slip deeper into her subconscious to examine her feelings and thoughts about him, wondering if she had any hidden intentions with the information she'd just learned. It wasn't as if many people knew that much about his magic, so she could do serious harm to him with the right people involved.

He wasn't surprised to find she was glad he had come with his guild to Fairy Tail, having believed there was a good chance he wouldn't show up. She was right about him not wanting to go, likely knowing as much through their soul bond. There was hope of a continued friendship and growing interest in him romantically – something he still didn't understand – which she was now aware of and accepted. He pulled back when he came across the affection she felt for him, unsure of how to feel about that. It was a little disconcerting knowing someone outside his usual circle cared about him. Lucy feeling affection for him was entirely different than her finding him attractive. He knew he was attractive enough, it would be hard not to know when he could pick up on the thoughts of women, but none of them ever cared about him. He knew he was an unlikeable asshole. It was usually on purpose.

Once she was finished with her water, Lucy said, "I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed. You're welcome to stay here tonight. It will probably be more comfortable than going back to the guildhall."

She left the room without waiting for a response, not expecting one from him yet. It wasn't long until he heard the shower start and sounds of Lucy brushing her teeth. He didn't want to leave. He was comfortable here with her in this little apartment. He didn't like it, but it was what it was. If he were going to leave, he'd have to do it now while she wasn't in the room. He didn't want to an awkward goodbye.

Instead of leaving, he continued to sit on the couch, listening to the hum of her soul. Her thoughts were mostly quiet, too tired to think much. She showered quickly and was nearly finished before he could make up his mind on staying or leaving. Most of the time she spent showering, he'd been trying not to think about her naked and wet instead of focusing on the real problem at hand. It had been way too long since he'd gotten some. There weren't many options out in the damn wilderness, unless he wanted to settle for one of his guildmates. He shuddered at the thought.

Going down that road with Lucy was out of the question. He wasn't sure, but he thought adding a physical aspect to their relationship would only strengthen the soul bond. It wasn't something he wanted or enjoyed – though, that was slowly changing – so he wasn't going to have sex with her. Even if it would be good. Probably really fucking good.

The dangerous path of his thoughts ended as the bathroom door opened. Lucy didn't say anything. She just walked to her bedroom, opened a drawer, went back into the bathroom, and then walked back to her bedroom.

_I'm going to sleep. I put some of Gray's left behind clothes in the bathroom in case you want to shower. You can wash your clothes, too, if you want._

He appreciated her not saying that out loud. He wasn't ready to acknowledge how badly he wanted to stay, and voicing aloud anything related would only make staying a reality. It wasn't as if he'd actually made up his mind to leave, though. He couldn't seem to make his body stand up to walk toward the door. He wasn't used to being such an indecisive pussy.

Once he heard Lucy settle beneath her blanket and relax into sleep nearly instantly, he stood up and walked into the bathroom. He methodically undressed, showered and redressed in the borrowed clothes, doing his best to ignore the domestic feel of the actions. He easily found her washing machine and started a quick wash cycle, feeling deeply disturbed by the actions. This wasn't him, borrowing clothes, doing laundry in a chick's apartment, being _friends._ He didn't know how to be friends – a recurring thought that had been haunting him for weeks.

Cobra flung himself on the couch while he waited for his clothes to finish washing. He was determined to stay awake long enough to put them in the dryer to avoid an awkward morning after situation brought about by his wet clothes needing to dry before he could leave.

It didn't take long for the cycle to finish, though it felt like an eternity. He spent the entire time fighting against the pull of her soul. It called out to his, trying to draw him nearer into physical contact. She was fucking sleeping but still reaching out to him. He wasn't sure if he was struggling to stay away because he was tired with less energy to fight the urge, or if he was just starting to want the connection they shared.

He was pretty sure knew the answer. Damn soul bond had him all kinds of fucked up.

After moving his clothes over to the next machine, he silently made his way into her room. She had conveniently left one side of the bed open for him, as if she knew he would end up there. Damn woman probably did know. He lifted the blanket and slid into the bed, trying not to shift the mattress and wake her. He didn't want any witnesses to this moment of weakness.

Almost as soon as he was lying flat on his back, she scooted closer to him and pressed her body against his. He froze, unsure of what to do. Had anyone ever cuddled up to him? It was fucking weird. His magic told him she was only trying to curl up against another warm body, an action she was familiar with after sharing a bed with her teammates so often. Her innocent intentions helped him relax, which made him feel like even more of a pussy for being relieved she wasn't looking for sex. What the hell was wrong with him?

He adjusted his trapped arm to a more comfortable position so it wouldn't go numb from poor circulation. Unfortunately, that meant tucking the arm beneath Lucy's head and around her body, basically hugging her to him. At least she made the position change easier, not even waking at the adjustment.

Time ticked by as he slowly relaxed. The warmth of her body pressing against his helped, as did her scent surrounding him. The stupid lizard soul trapped in the lacrima inside his body was happy to have her so close to him. It had been pressing him to get closer to her on a regular basis, which he did his best to ignore. He didn't know how the other dragon slayers dealt with having a dragon soul as a literal piece of their body, mind and soul versus trapped in a lacrima that kept it contained and separate. The beasts probably controlled half the dragon slayer's mind, which explained a lot now that he was thinking about it.

Just before falling asleep, Cobra realized he had turned on his side to get more comfortable and was now fully cuddled around the woman whose bed he slept in. Her head was lying on his upper arm with her face pressed against his throat, their arms were wrapped around each other and legs tangled. Even though part of him rebelled against the closeness, he couldn't bring himself to move. He was too comfortable.

Morning came quickly after too few hours of sleep. Cobra carefully extracted himself from Lucy's embrace and left the warm bed. He rushed through dressing in his clean clothes so he could escape the apartment before Lucy woke further. With the sun quickly rising, it wouldn't be long until she was fully awake.

He was far from her front door, though still focused on her soul, when he felt her stir and the stab of disappointment she felt when she realized he was gone. Focused on their connection, he could almost see her roll onto her back and stare at the ceiling while she tried to remember everything from the night before. She was thinking about him and missing him even though he had only just left. It seemed she was also confused by her strong feelings for him, though not disturbed to the same depth he was.

Cobra sat with his back leaning against a tree at the meeting place designated by Jellal the day before and allowed himself to focus fully on Lucy. He felt like a voyeur as he listened to her soul while she prepared for the day, silently wishing he were there with her, a desire they shared.

He felt the others nearing and pulled back from his connection with Lucy, focusing on his surroundings. It was hard to do with her scent still clinging to his skin. Their group was moving forward with a dangerous part of their ongoing mission and being distracted would be detrimental to everyone involved. His chest tightened with an unusual sensation he belatedly realized was longing. The need he felt to be around Lucy had deepened during the hours they spent together. It was just another part of this connection he didn't know how to handle, so he shoved it away into that deep, dark pit where he hid all his useless emotions to be dealt with another day.

**I'm not sure where it came from, but this story is now a ****_thing_****with plot and all. I'm really curious about the reader's responses to where this is going, so I'd appreciate reviews and/or pm's. I have a lot planned but want to know if anyone else is enjoying this. I'm seriously loving writing it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, I just wanted to start off this chapter by apologizing to anyone who cares about the missing members of Crime Sorciere. I sort of…forgot?... they even existed when I started this story. When I realized what I'd done, I just didn't care enough to somehow write them in. Let's just say the missing members joined others guilds and are living happily ever after… oops**

The mages of Crime Sorciere stood behind a wall of Midnight's illusion magic, shielding them from the man they were stalking. The impressive strength of the illusion kept them concealed even while speaking.

"Can this guy possibly get more cliché?" Sorano asked in a snarky tone. Meredy giggled as Sorano added," Seriously, a hooded, black cloak and a staff with a magical, glowing rock? What the hell is up with this guy?"

"I still can't believe his name is Ken." Cobra mused, adding in his thoughts on the man. "That shit has been on my mind for weeks. What kind of dark mage keeps his name when it's a pansy ass name like Ken? He could've went dark and poetic with something like Dante, or made some shit up like Kilaton."

"Kilaton?" Sorano asked with an eye brow raised.

"Yeah, kill-a-ton." Cobra explained, smirking when they all laughed. "It suits the bastard with all the people he's abducted."

Midnight scoffed in disgust then said, "And look at his eye liner. It's terrible. It's like he found a lump of charcoal and let a child smear it all around. When did people stop caring about symmetry and clean lines?"

The other mages looked at Midnight in quiet disbelief, which he took as a que to continue. "His lips just make it worse. What the hell is that, anyway? A powdered drink mix applied as lipstick? Pathetic. Even I've never stooped so low."

Cobra snorted and the two women snickered, disagreeing with the last bit but not saying so aloud.

Midnight ended his ranting with, "This guy definitely needs to die."

Incredulously, Cobra asked, "He needs to die because of his poor cosmetic choices?"

When the other man only grunted noncommittally, Cobra went on, "I was thinking more along the lines of because children have been disappearing, or because he's gaining a following from all the other assholes in the country, but I guess we can tell the council we offed him because he had shitty make up."

Midnight shrugged and Jellal chimed in before the conversation could devolve further, "Are you all done giving yourselves a pep talk, or do you need more time to prepare?"

"Fuck off, blueberry," Cobra snapped at him, "the shit going on in your head wasn't any better."

"Yes, well, we should begin." Jellal said as he stood from where he'd been kneeling a few feet away. The group had done all the recon they could to prepare for the encounter and now needed only to confront the man. Even with a team of such powerful mages, Jellal was having doubts of their success.

The group had been watching the man, Ken, for weeks after getting word of a mage growing in power while leaving behind a trail of missing people. A few of the missing turned up dead, but many were still unaccounted for. The investigation led them to believe the source of the man's growing power was the stone glowing with a bright yellow light in its perch atop the wooden staff. It was always with the man and seemed to be a bit brighter and more powerful each time they spotted him. Today was their first attempt to overtake him, having waited so long because they were unable to determine the type of magic he used. The general assumption was that the man had no magic of his own.

Even Cobra couldn't get much info from him. Something about the stone, or so Cobra guessed, prevented him from reading the guy's soul. He picked up bits here and there, like the fact that the guy's name was Ken and he was actively looking for the next person he intended to abduct, but nothing very helpful. The guild had to move on him now before he could capture his next target. Cobra wasn't sure who the unlucky person was, but he had deduced the target was essential to the next step in Ken's plans with the stone.

Jellal told Midnight, "Drop the illusion."

Once the magic in front of them cleared, the group moved forward to spread into their planned attack pattern. They would surround and overwhelm the man, then take his staff. If he needed to be put to death, they would take care of that after he was disarmed.

"Well hello, mages." Ken said with a smile. "I've been wondering when you would show yourselves. You've been watching me for awhile."

None of the mages responded as they moved, so Ken went on, "No one wants to talk? Then I guess we should proceed."

The cloaked man beat the end of his staff into the ground in three measured taps. A rush of energy seemed to spread from the tip of the staff after the third strike. As soon as the energy came in contact with Sorano, Meredy and Midnight, the three mages collapsed to the ground. Cobra felt the power when it came in contact with him, stealing his breath and making his muscles lock up for an instant, but then it released him. He gasped and turned to look at Jellal who was unaffected.

"What the fuck was that?" Cobra demanded.

"It didn't work on you. " Ken cocked his head to the side as if curious, then shrugged and said, "No matter. You won't be enough to stop me."

The man moved to attack, swinging his staff at Cobra's head. He ducked and swung a fist up into the man's chin, surprised when the obvious counter move connected, as if the man had no fighting experience. When Cobra's hand came in contact with the man, he received a flash of information. Ken intended to drain his target's light magic to fully power the stone he wielded in the staff.

Before Cobra's magic could be fully blocked again, he picked up just enough to warn him of the incoming swing of the staff, so he quickly moved out of its path. Jellal engaged the man in hand to hand combat, overwhelming his opponent with the speed of his hits. The staff quickly became more of a hindrance to Ken, its length too long to be useful at close range. With poison laced claws, Cobra struck out at the man's stomach, stabbing into his gut. The two remaining members of Crime Sorciere fought in practiced tandem with one another, moving in and out of the dark mage's reach as they worked together to overtake him.

After another punch that connected with Ken's face, Cobra picked up on the man's next move. "Jellal! Move! You're the target!"

Jellal activated his Meteor magic, wrapping his body in a heavenly glow as he sped away from the man's reach. Frustrated by his lack of success, Ken screamed and jumped backward, away from Cobra's next swing. When his feet hit the ground several yards away, Ken's face looked crazed as he pointed at Cobra with the hand holding the staff and said, "You will not interfere further. Die!"

With the last word, Ken dropped the staff and used the same hand to send a blast of dark magic at Cobra. The staff's shield around Ken's soul ended, but by then it was too late for Cobra to dodge. The darkness exploded into Cobra's chest knocking him onto his back.

"No!" Jellal shouted, moving to Cobra's side. He knelt over Cobra's prone form to check on him. Cobra gasped out, "Move, idiot! He's trying to abduct you to drain your magic."

Jellal jumped away just as Ken's staff swung through the air he'd just occupied. Assuming the staff could somehow immobilize him, Jellal moved quickly to stay out of its range and he began a spell. As soon as he was prepared, he stopped moving and raised his hands into position as he shouted, "Grand Chariot!"

The bright seals formed, creating a blast of heavenly magic that slammed into Ken, though the magic didn't dissipate once it hit. As Ken fell to the ground, he dropped the staff, which seemed to be drawing in the magic of Jellal's attack. A swirling vortex of bright magic spun around the fallen staff until it spiraled down into the stone and disappeared.

"That's really fucking bad," Cobra groaned from where he lay. He'd immediately drilled into Ken's soul once the man released the staff and now knew the extent of the dark mage's plans. Cobra needed to get up to check on the others and inform Jellal of what he'd discovered but he couldn't move. Whatever the spell was that hit him, it was draining his life force. He'd finally uncovered the secret of Ken's magic: Death Magic.

…

Lucy's galeforce reading glasses sat perched on her nose as she quickly flipped through the pages of the ancient tome in front of her. She shared a table with Levy at the back of the guild where the two were busy speed reading their way through the pile of books acting as a barricade between the women and the rest of the guild. Gajeel was at the table, too, but only as Levy's cushion instead of assisting with the research, so Lucy paid his grumbling no mind.

The guild was unusually noisy with nearly all the members present. There was nothing special going on, just a lack of job requests. It was another lull brought on by the local paper releasing another story about working mages causing property damage – nothing related to Team Natsu, thankfully – so there just weren't a lot of requests for the guild.

"Hey, Lu, I think I found something." Levy said as she pulled her glasses from her nose and handed the book to Lucy. The script mage pointed at a paragraph and said, "Read this one and the next. Let me know if you need help with the translation."

Lucy read the text slowly, allowing her mind to translate and understand the ancient words. Apparently, soul magics weren't rare a long time ago, as in several centuries ago. There was a lot of good information in the old books the women uncovered in the guild's library, but it was slow reading. Most of it was in foreign languages, and even the books in the common tongue were hard to understand since the dialect was outdated.

The unintentional soul bond Lucy shared with Cobra had been on her mind constantly since he left days before. With nothing better do to, like taking a freaking job to earn some money before she went poor, Lucy focused her efforts on an information hunt. She'd set aside a few books she thought Cobra might want to read, since he'd mentioned not knowing much about his magic.

Involving Levy had been brilliant, since the petite woman was just as dedicated to solving mysteries as Lucy. The woman had been overcome by the romantic sounding bond, which Lucy reassured her was not all that romantic. It actually leaned more towards being frustrating with the person on the other end of the bond constantly cutting her off or overloading her with his bad attitude.

A heavy body hit the seat next to Lucy, drawing a startled yelp from the blonde woman as Bickslow said, "This looks familiar." He snatched the book from Lucy's hands, ignoring her protests and flipped to a section further in the back. "You're probably looking for this."

He handed the book back to her, unfazed by her glare, and tapped the section he wanted her to read. "You could have saved yourself a lot of time if you'd just come ask me your questions."

"I planned to talk to you too, but you know how much I love to read. I couldn't pass up the chance to read through these ancient texts!" Lucy's excitement baffled Bickslow.

"You're crazy, Cosplayer." He said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"Well since you're here, why don't you save me some time and tell me what this says. I can read it later." Lucy marked her place with a satin ribbon that wouldn't damage the delicate pages and turned her attention to her friend.

Flirtatious as usual, he leaned forward with his tongue out as he asked, "What will I get out of it if I do?"

She leaned forward batting her eyelashes, something Bickslow found more disturbing than alluring. "I won't tell Laxus you've been spying on him with Freed."

The tall man gulped and leaned back, terrified of being outed to his team leader. He only wanted to confirm his suspicions that Freed had finally managed to win Laxus' heart. "You play dirty."

Lucy sat upright again with a bright smile as she said, "I know. So spill."

With an exaggerated sigh, he said, "The soul bond is usually created between two people devoted to each other, not necessarily in a romantic relationship, though that is the most common. Lots of people have links to someone they care about, but those bonds aren't the same. For it to be a link like the one you have, one of the pair has to have soul magic, so this bond is part of Cobra's magic. It's typically formed out of need versus want. For example, I couldn't just form a soul bond with some chick I liked banging just to keep tabs on her."

"That sounds a little stalkerish, Bixyboo." Lucy said with an eyebrow cocked. He looked away with a slight blush, thinking something she was sure didn't want to know. Had he done that before?

"Eh, it is, but that's what the bond does. Not only do you two share emotions," He paused to look at her, going on when she nodded, "you can also find each other through the bond. It'll work like a beacon. Sort of."

Lucy nodded slowly, thinking. "All of that makes sense, but I'd mostly already figured it out. What I really don't understand is where it came from or why he bonded with me."

Bickslow shrugged and hesitated a little too long before saying, "Like I said, the bond is formed out of need, so it was necessary for some reason."

Her brows scrunched as she thought about that. "Well, we both helped each other out a few times, so we did need each other, though not exactly. Anyone would have worked, it just happened to be the two of us each time in those situations."

Bickslow nodded, unsure if he should say more. He could tell her how broken Cobra's soul had been before latching onto hers, and how the brokenness likely affected him in other ways mentally and possibly physically, but that seemed like an extremely personal thing to say. It didn't sound like she and Cobra had talked about this much, so Bickslow didn't feel as if he should be the one to tell her how badly the dragon slayer needed her.

"You should just ask him about it next time he's around to see what he thinks." Bickslow said.

Agreeing to pick back up on the research later, the women put their books back on the stacks to instead talk with the men at the table. Lucy had been feeling strange the last few minutes but couldn't really put it into words. She knew the feelings were coming through the bond, though it was muted. From what she could tell, Cobra was in the middle of a fight with a powerful mage and Lucy didn't think the fight was going in Cobra's favor.

She looked at Bickslow when he placed a hand on her shoulder to jostle her slightly. He had just spoken to her but she hadn't heard him, not really. Her attention was too heavily focused on the soul bond.

Bickslow turned Lucy to face him with a hand on each of her shoulders. Her eyes were wide and unfocused with terror contorting her features. He shook her again saying, "Lucy, Lucy. What's wrong?"

Levy stood up from Gajeel's lap and shouted, "Natsu! Get over here!"

The Fire Dragon Slayer ran over to them and immediately noticed Lucy's state. "What's wrong with her? What'd you do?" Flames shot up Natsu's arms as he turned on Bickslow.

"I didn't do anything!" Bickslow shouted back. When Levy started squawking about the books catching fire, Gajeel extended an iron arm to push Natsu a few feet away.

Lucy seemed to snap back to herself, but immediately started crying. "He's hurt! He's dying! I saw it!"

Natsu extinguished his flames and pushed between Bickslow and Lucy to place both his hands on her face, forcing her to focus on him. "What's the matter, Luce? Who's dying?"

"Erik! A guy hit him with a blast of magic and now he's lying on the ground in the forest far to the east of Magnolia. He's dying, Natsu!" Lucy's voice rose with her hysteria, drawing the attention of the nearby mages.

A few of them rushed over to see what the commotion was about. Natsu turned and asked, "Does anybody know where Mest is at? He was here earlier."

Shouting across the guild, Mest answered, "I'm over here, Natsu!" He jogged over to the growing crowd and pushed through until he knelt next to Lucy and Natsu. "You need me for something?"

Lucy turned to Mest and grabbed a handful of his shirt. "Mest! You can go get him! Bring him here so Wendy can heal him!"

Confused, Mest looked at Natsu and then Bickslow asking, "Who the hell is she talking about? What happened?"

Bickslow explained while leaving out personal details. "There must have been a fight between Crime Sorciere and a powerful enemy because at least one of them is hurt, but probably more than just one."

Mest pried Lucy's hands away as he stood saying, "Alright, I'll go. Where are they?"

Bickslow looked back at Lucy as he spoke, hoping she had more details. "She says they're in a forest to the east but pretty far out."

Levy's voice shouting drew their attention as she shoved people out of the way. "Move people!" She was dragging Warren behind her through the crowd. When they made it to the center of everyone's attention, she said, "I found Warren and explained the basics. He's picked up on their location and can show you on his Magic Radar."

While Warren and Mest spoke, Levy pulled Lucy to her feet as she said to the other three men, "Get everyone to move. I'm taking her up to the infirmary. She'll need to be there when they get here."

Always one to take his woman seriously, Gajeel shouted, "Get outta the way, assholes. You've seen enough." He roughly shoved a path through the crowd as Lucy and Levy followed after him. The Iron Dragon Slayer waved down Wendy to have her head upstairs with them.

The crowd flocked back together looking for more details. Natsu looked at Bickslow and smirked as he said, "I'll get them to leave." Fire licked down Natsu's arms causing Bickslow, along with everyone else, to jump out of the way. The crowd quickly dispersed at the threat of imminent danger.

Just after the group with Lucy made it inside the infirmary door, Mest appeared with an unconscious body in his arms. He went to the nearest bed to lay Cobra down as he said to Wendy, "I'll be back with more," and then teleported away again.

Lucy rushed to Cobra's side, barely containing her panic at the sight of him lying still and lifeless. She reached out to touch him but pulled back at the last moment, unsure if where to put her hand in his injured state. "Wendy! You have to help him!"

"I know, sis. I'm working on it." She set to work cutting away Cobra's clothing. It was clear from the damaged fabric that he'd been hit in his chest by a blast of powerful magic. When Wendy finished cutting through all the material, she tugged it free and brought forth her healing magic to assess the damage. She murmured to herself as she worked, "Injuries isolated to upper left torso. Second and third rib broken, fourth rib fractured, clavicle broken, deep tissue damage to the pectoral muscle with possible tear in the deltoid, no damage to the lungs or heart."

The dragon slayer was quiet for a moment as she closed her eyes to focus on the healing. A weighted silence fell over the room while they waited. Wendy grunted in frustration, doubling her efforts, features scrunched as she focused.

"I can't heal him!" She exclaimed, eyes shooting open wide in panic. "It's not working." Tears pooled against her lower lashes as she pushed more magic forward, enough to cause the glow of her hands to brighten the room.

"What do you mean?!" Lucy gasped.

Fear clear in Wendy's voice, she explained, "His body isn't responding. The injuries are there but it's like my magic isn't touching any of them. It just bypasses the damage as if it can't be healed, almost like-" her voice trailed off.

Voice barely a whisper, Lucy asked, "Like what?"

"It's like trying to heal a dead body," Wendy finished quietly, dropping her hands to her sides. "He's still alive, but barely, and his body won't respond to the healing."

Lucy felt like she couldn't get in any air, as if she was suffocating while the world collapsed around her. It didn't matter that she barely knew him beyond their bond, she needed him. "No, it's not possible. He can't die." She stumbled back, her voice shaky in her denial.

Bickslow activated his magic to see if Cobra's soul was still present. Wendy's assessment of Cobra's state was accurate. He was nearly dead. The light of his soul was faint, barely existing within his body, fading further as Bickslow watched. He could still see the tie between Cobra and Lucy, which seemed to be the only thing holding Cobra's soul in his body.

"Lucy, you have to bring him back." Bickslow said earnestly.

"What are you talking about?" She turned wide eyes on him. The tears sliding down her face broke Bickslow's heart. "I can't heal! My magic doesn't work like that."

He placed both hands on Lucy's shoulders and turned her back to facing Cobra, forcing her to step closer to his prone form. "Not with your magic, with the bond. Try calling to him."

"I- I don't know. I don't know what to do." Lucy couldn't think clearly. She could feel Cobra dying as much as she could see it happening in front of her. His soul was slipping further away from her with each shallow breath he took.

"Does the bond between you seem stronger when you're touching?" Bickslow asked.

"Yeah," Lucy said sounding unsure, shock and terror making her brain slow to act on his words.

"Well, touch him Cosplayer. Skin to skin contact would be best. While you're touching him, reach out for his soul with yours and pull him back to you." Bickslow grabbed Lucy's hand and placed it over Cobra's. "You can do this."

"Ok" she said, releasing Cobra's hand only long enough to peel away her shirt, uncaring of the others in the room seeing her in the skimpy bra beneath. Her legs were already mostly bare in her shorts, but Cobra was still wearing his pants so it didn't matter anyway. She climbed onto the table gingerly, doing her best not to jostle his injured ribs. By now he should have flinched slightly as if shocked by the contact, like he always did when she touched him, but he didn't move at all. He was completely still. Just like a dead body.

Doing her best to control her thoughts and emotions, Lucy laid her body along his side with her forehead resting against the side of his face and legs pressed against his. With the arm trapped beneath her weight she slipped her hand into his, twining their fingers together. She gently placed her other arm across his stomach, trusting Wendy's judgment that no injuries were present in the area.

Lucy closed her eyes and felt for the soul bond, but she was distracted by the torrent of emotions rampaging inside her. It took longer than usual to sink into the meditative state needed to reach the bond. When she could finally feel it, her despair grew with how faint the connection was. Where there had once been a shining bridge between their souls, there was now only a dim glow.

She reached for the glow, brushing against it, hoping to get a response from the soul on the other end. Nothing happened. Stretching forward, she pulled the dim glow within her, holding tightly to the dying seed of their bond. She tested pushing her emotions across the connection in a way that usually irritated him. A response as soft as the flicker of a dying candle returned to her.

Motivated by the small success, Lucy held tightly to the remnant of their soul bond and threw everything she felt into it, blasting it with emotion. The sudden influx of feeling seemed to temporarily brighten the light between them and she felt another reaction from his soul.

Confidence rising, Lucy tried also reaching out with her mind. _Erik, don't leave me. I know you're still here. Come back to me._

A hint of emotion rebounded to her, as if he were trying to reach across the gap but couldn't.

_I feel you. I know you're there. Come back. Please don't leave me._

The answering pull was stronger than before. She pushed all the longing and hope she felt into the bond, focusing on flooding his fading soul with her affection. The light of his soul grew, strengthening within the confines of her own soul.

_That's it. I can feel you. Keep coming back to me._

The connection between them snapped back into place at the same moment Cobra sucked in a breath of air, like he'd been held under water too long. A broken sob escaped Lucy at the sound of his heavy breathing and the feel of his soul responding to hers. She could feel the link again, like a bridge from her soul to his. Even as she left the meditative state, she could almost see the bond between them, as if it were stronger than before.

_What the fuck was that? She's flooding me with all her damn feelings again._

Her eyes shot open as she gasped. She'd just heard his thoughts! She whispered excitedly, "Stars above! I heard you!"

_What? _Cobra thoughts were silent for a moment as he realized what she just said. _What the hell? If you can hear me then shut up. It's too damn loud in here._

_Oh, sorry. Want me to get them to leave?_

_Yeah, except the tiny dragon slayer. Get her to heal me first._

Lucy sat up and released Cobra's hand, ending their physical contact. As soon as it ended, she felt the difference. It was like leaving a warm blanket on a cold day, the shock of relaxing warmth replaced with uncomfortable, stinging cold. Ignoring that for now, she said, "Wendy, can you try healing him now? And can everyone else leave so he can have some quiet?"

As the others left the room, Lucy's attention was drawn to Bickslow, whose eyes were glowing green with an expression of astonished disbelief on his face. "That was amazing, Cosplayer."

With a smile she said, "Yeah, thanks for helping. I would have lost him without you."

"Don't worry about it." He shrugged as he walked toward the door. He dropped his eyes to her exposed breasts and let his tongue loll to the side as he added, "I'm sure you'll figure out a way to repay me later."

Lucy rolled her eyes as Bickslow closed the door. She looked back to see Wendy already nearly finished healing Cobra's ribs. The young healer said, "He'll be sore for awhile. He needs to take it easy for a few days."

"Ok, thanks, Wendy." Once the teen turned to examine the other injured mages in the room, whom Lucy hadn't realized were there, Lucy looked down at Cobra to see him staring at her intently. "What?"

He narrowed his eyes, staring her for a moment longer and then looked away as he shook his head. Had he been trying to think at her? She hadn't heard anything since their contact ended.

She grabbed his hand, drawing his focus back on her as she tried to hear him again. There wasn't a clear thought like before but there was something there, as if she could feel his intent to communicate. Lucy lay back down with her body stretched alongside his and her arm resting across his stomach. She pressed her face in against his neck, closed her eyes and directed a thought at him.

_Try it now._

_Well?_

_This is crazy! __I can hear you again._

_Yeah? Weird as hell._

Lucy didn't respond again, not needing to hear Cobra's thoughts to know he didn't want to talk. She sunk back into the meditative state just to feel the bond again, reassuring herself it was still there. As she brushed against the connection, it felt like the blanket of comfort wrapped around the two of them again, surrounding them in a cocoon of warmth. She could feel him in a way she hadn't before. It was like his soul was in her and around her, truly a part of her. It was an unbelievable feeling.

Cobra didn't try to stop Lucy when she slid her hand under his, linking their fingers together. He even laid his other arm atop the one she'd stretched over his stomach, his palm flat against her forearm with his thumb lightly rubbing back and forth. It felt _right_ when he leaned his head further against hers. He didn't question it, knowing he could deal with his doubts later when they came back to him. He'd just fucking _died_ but followed Lucy's soul back to the living. He was doing his best not to think about anything for awhile.

They lay that way until the infirmary door was kicked opened as Natsu walked inside with a tray of food in his hands. The abrupt noise scared Lucy badly enough to make her squeal and nearly fall off the bed.

"Hiya, Luce. And Cobra." Natsu said the last with a bit of growl in his voice. He narrowed his eyes at Lucy's partial nudity. "Shouldn't you have a shirt on by now?"

"Why the fuck do you care?" Cobra asked before Lucy could answer.

The heat rose instantly as Natsu answered, "Cause she's my partner and best friend and I don't want to see her get wrapped up with somebody like you."

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted with a hand shoved against Cobra's chest to stop his attempt to sit up. "What is your problem?!"

Looking at her with a pout on his face, he said, "What? I'm being nice. It's not like I punched the guy."

Lucy groaned and let her forehead fall into her palm. She removed her other hand from Cobra when he relaxed back into the bed with an irritated huff. Looking back up, she nodded toward the tray Natsu held, "I guess Mira sent you up here with food?"

"Oh yeah!" His ire from moments ago totally forgotten, he explained, "One of the bowls is super poisoned for the freak, so don't eat from the red one." After a brief pause, he said, "Actually, don't eat from the black one. The red bowl is ok."

Concerned for her life, Lucy asked, "Are you sure?"

"Eh," he sniffed to determine which bowl was safe.

"Fucking idiot," Cobra grumbled as he sat up slowly, his remaining aches obvious with his movement. "Give it here and I'll check."

Natsu shrugged and handed the tray to Cobra once he'd settled to sit beside Lucy on the edge of the bed. As Natsu turned away to leave, he jabbed the side of Lucy's head with a finger and said, "See ya, loser. Don't do anything stupid."

When the door closed, Cobra said loudly, "You assholes can stop acting like you're sleeping."

The other three mages in the room sat up nearly simultaneously. Midnight said, "I guess we missed a lot. Not sure how we got here."

Sorano looked at Cobra, "Sounds like you nearly died?" He nodded without turning to look at her, already knowing her next words. "What a shame. Maybe next time."

Lucy's mouth dropped open in shock. How could the woman be so cold hearted?

Cobra said to Sorano, "Lucy thinks you're a bitch."

The white haired woman turned narrowed eyes on Lucy, glaring hard enough to burn holes in the other woman's skin. After a moment, she dropped the look and shrugged. "She's right."

Shaking her head, Lucy turned back to Cobra, noticing for the first time how much grass was in his hair. When she started picking the pieces out, he said, "We aren't monkeys. I don't need you to groom me."

"Oh shut up and enjoy it." She bit back, not slowing her monkey-like actions.

An uncontrollable smile twitched on Cobra's lips, making him glad his back was to the others as he spooned another more poisoned soup into his mouth. He finished his bowl and then started on hers, knowing she didn't want it.

When Lucy finished picking the grass out of the front of Cobra's hair, she stood to move around to the other side so she could more easily reach the back, which had way more grass in it. She stopped when she realized how quiet it was in the room.

She noticed Jellal was missing and assumed he'd left with everyone else. Midnight and Meredy were seated side by side on a bed, the latter with hearts in her eyes and her hands clasped under her chin. Lucy raised a brow at that and looked at Sorano who had rolled onto her side, lying propped up on one hand with the other resting on her hip. The woman said, "You can continue."

"Um, ok?" Lucy did just that, unsure of what else she should do. She climbed back onto the bed to sit behind Cobra while she worked on removing the grass and dirt from his hair.

A high pitched squeal drew her attention back to the others. Meredy was now bright pink and looked like she might explode. Midnight explained in a dry voice, "She gets excited over romance. You two are her new favorite ship."

"Ship?" Lucy whispered to herself as she turned back to her task. "She's another Mira."

"You have no idea." Cobra answered quietly.

"Oh, just fuck already." Sorano snapped grumpily. "The tension is killing all of us slowly. It's disgusting."

Before Lucy could come up with something to say, Meredy hopped to her feet and placed a hand on Sorano's wrist. The white haired woman screeched, but her protest died as soon as Meredy's magic became active, leaving a pink band with a heart on Sorano's wrist.

Smiling sweetly, Sorano spoke in an upbeat tone that didn't match her words, "You stupid little whore. I'll get you for this."

Cobra snorted and explained to Lucy, "Meredy likes to share her happiness with Sorano, but it isn't very effective. Sorano's supreme bitchiness still shines through when she opens her mouth."

While Sorano sweetly threatened Meredy's life, Midnight asked Cobra, "You alright?"

Turning to look at the other man, the two shared an unspoken communication only possible between two people who were very close. Eventually he answered, "Yeah, I'll tell you more later."

"Good enough." Midnight stood and pulled Meredy to her feet then said, "Come on, Sorano. Let's go find some food."

The trio left the room with Midnight leading the way as Sorano glared at Meredy with her hands over her heart and a beautiful smile on her face.

Finally alone, Lucy gave up on Cobra's dirty hair and leaned forward against his back. As soon as she made contact, he jumped slightly, a reaction she expected but ignored, and she put her arms around his waist. She closed her eyes and just rested against him. Eventually she whispered, "That was horrible."

He made a noise but seemed distracted. Lucy attempted to figure out what he was thinking, surprising herself when she succeeded. The scars remaining from his time as a child slave in the Tower of Heaven made him self-conscious. She answered his thoughts, "I don't care about all the scars on your back. It's not like I haven't seen them before. You were shirtless when I found you in the Room of Death."

Cobra laughed softly at the mention of the name she'd given the room where he'd nearly died once before. He said quietly, "You saved my life back then, too."

Lucy hummed but didn't respond, not really finding it to be a big deal. She ran a finger along his back, feeling the raised surfaces, some smooth and some bumpy. She traced along a particularly long scar and asked, "Can you feel this?"

He shrugged while saying, "In some places. Others don't have much feeling left."

She let her hand fall away from his back and slid it around to join her other arm in holding him close to her. With her face resting again his back again, she asked, "What happened? I know a lot from what came through the bond, which is amazing now that I'm not terrified out of my mind anymore, but I don't know everything."

"The short version is none of us, including me, knew what the fuck his magic was or if he had any at all. Too late to help, I figured out he had death magic. By then, the damn blast was colliding with me and I was down." The moment he realized he was going to die played in his memory. He'd always been pretty indifferent about living, even at other times when he'd had near death experiences. It was different this time, though, and he knew that was likely because of the woman against his back. For the first time he could remember, he _wanted_ to live. The realization stirred his usual discomfort with the connection the two of them shared, making him doubly uncomfortable with her leaning against him. He didn't like to be touched and knowing physical contact meant she could hear his thoughts made the idea even more unappealing. He focused on his brief retelling of the earlier fight, hoping he could prevent her picking up on his deeper thoughts. "At least I poisoned his ass. I doubt it'll keep him down long with that fucking stone being supercharged now, but we should be able to find him again."

Lucy didn't respond right away. She had an idea forming in her mind that she was nervous to speak aloud. The silence seemed to press in on her nerves, making it harder to build up courage. Eventually she said, "So, you can't travel for awhile."

"Nope." He knew where this was going but wanted to see if she could bring herself to ask the question. True anxiety was rare for someone like Lucy, so her suffering was amusing to him.

"And I guess you'll need somewhere to stay."

Cobra made a noise but still didn't say anything helpful. He wasn't even sure how he would answer her question.

Lucy huffed and pulled one arm loose to pinch his side. "You're an ass, you know that? I know you know what I'm trying to say."

"Don't know what you mean." He said as he turned slowly. Lucy let her arms slip away as he leaned backward to lie flat again. She followed him down to curl against his side, careful not to lean her head on his newly healed injuries. Part of him shouted that he should get away but he couldn't bring himself to leave the bed.

She huffed and said, "I want you to stay with me."

Cobra smiled with his eyes closed, enjoying this more than he should. "You sure? I'm not an easy person to live with. I'm a bit of a prickly pear."

Lucy snorted, which turned into laughter as she said. "I'm sure."

They were both quiet for awhile as Cobra rested and Lucy enjoyed cuddling with him, knowing the lack of attitude was only because he wasn't back to his usual self. It hadn't escaped her notice that he never actually agreed to stay with her. It wouldn't be long until he was pushing her away. She could almost feel the desire to escape building up inside him. She really wanted him stay with her, at least for a little while, though she wasn't sure what she hoped would come of it.

Through their connection, she could feel a ridiculous comment forming in his mind but she didn't know what it was going to be. Even with the warning, she was surprised when he said, "Your tits are as nice as I'd imagined."

Lucy laughed again, rolling onto her back and nearly off the bed as her laughter released the last tendrils of stress hanging onto her. When she settled down, she turned back onto her side as she said, "Maybe I should have listened to Natsu and put my shirt back on. You're trouble."

Cobra made a sound of disagreement then said, "Nah, you look better like this. You're lucky I'm injured or I might be willing to try all the crazy shit he's imagining we're doing in here."

When she laughed again, he added, "He thinks all dragon slayers are into the weird shit he's into. You don't want to know what him and the ice guy do in here when no one is around."

"No, you're lying." She said in disgust as her imagination created images she would never be able to bleach away.

He shrugged as well as he could while on his back and said, "You don't have to believe me. Just don't ever use the bed Sorano was on. All I'll tell you is they like to play doctor."

"That's just… ew." Lucy said in quiet horror, the images playing in her mind morphed into a highly detailed porn staring two of her closest friends. When Lucy finally gained control over her mind again, she said, "You really need a shower."

Cobra snorted and shot back, "Well, I've been in the wilderness since I left your place, so it's just been streams for me. I'll try to find a shower next time so I don't offend your delicate senses."

"Thanks. I appreciate the kindness." She said with a smile. "If you think it's possible for you to sneak out of a window, I can get us out of here."

Hearing the details before she said them aloud, he agreed, "That plan of yours is just crazy enough to work, but you go first so I'll know if it's safe."

"How chivalrous of you." Lucy stood from the bed and walked around to pick up her shirt from where she'd tossed it. "It's definitely safe. Well, as safe as jumping out of a window can be. It's the usual escape route for unwilling patients."

Cobra chuckled as he sat up carefully, the lingering aches making his movements slow. He picked up the remnants of his coat hoping to put it on but the damn thing was cut to pieces. It wasn't even a coat now, more like two halves of what used to be a coat. The sleeves were sliced all the way up to the shoulders, which had been cut across to the neckline. There was no way to secure it even long enough to make it to Lucy's. Cobra was glad the tiny dragon slayer had healed him, but was this really necessary? He was sure she had increased strength like the rest of them, so couldn't she have just picked his ass up and pulled the coat off? He really liked this fucking coat, not to mention it was the only one he had.

Noticing his frustration, Lucy said, "I can ask Virgo to mend that for you. She's great with clothing repair. I've had worse and she fixed it right up."

He grunted and dropped the remains of his coat, not bothering to check the shirt. It would also be in two useless pieces. Cobra looked around the room, hoping there would be something he could use to cover up. Nobody but his teammates, and now Lucy, ever saw him shirtless and today wouldn't be the day that changed.

Lucy walked over to a cabinet, opening it to reveal assorted medical supplies. She reached up to the top shelf to pull down a folded shirt, which she brought over to Cobra. "This should fit fine since it's another of Gray's shirts."

Moving slowly, he pulled the shirt on as he said, "That stripper must have clothes everywhere."

"Yeah," Lucy answered as she stepped closer to help Cobra straighten out the shirt. The hem had gotten rolled up, so she reached out to loosen the fabric and smooth it down his sides. Standing as she was between his legs, she couldn't fight the surge of desire she felt. She had been questioning her feelings for the man before her for weeks, wondering if she only thought about him because of their connection, but now she knew that wasn't the full cause of it. He was a beautiful man, even with his scars and rough demeanor. She let her fingertips trail from where they rested against his sides to trace over his stomach and up to his chest, where she laid her palms flat against the firm muscles there. Finally looking up to his face, she found a look of shock there, his eye wide and brows high. Lucy smirked at his expression and then leaned forward to gently kiss his forehead. She closed her eyes as she lowered her face, leaning her forehead against his. The turmoil he felt was broadcast across their connection with the skin to skin contact. It was as if a tornado of disbelief, hope and fear threatened to swallow him whole. Lucy slid her hands up over his shoulders to cross behind his neck while moving her head to rest beside his as she embraced him. She whispered softly, "I'm glad you're still alive."

Cobra was completely still for the eternal seconds Lucy moved closer and closer to him. He didn't know what to do, how to accept that she wanted him. This wasn't just basic attraction of a woman to a man. She _cared_ about him. Why? Why did she care? They barely knew each other. It didn't make sense. And now she was just hugging him, freely expressing her innermost feelings across the bond and through physical contact, not attempting to shield any of her soul from him. The last part was possibly the hardest to understand. No one ever left their soul completely open for him to hear. There were always secret corners and shadows he had to work to uncover, but Lucy's was totally open to him. It was like someone standing naked in the middle of a busy street, bared for the world to see. And she was doing it on purpose, knowing she had opened herself to him.

He finally moved, bringing his hands up from where they rested on his legs to wrap them around Lucy's waist, returning the embrace. His breath left him in a sigh of relief as he squeezed her to him while turning his face into her hair. When he inhaled again, her scent filled him, bringing with it a sense of peace he'd never experienced. He finally answered her, "I'm glad, too."

Cobra could nearly hear aloud the hum of their connection. His acceptance of the soul bond seemed to have an effect on it, strengthening it as it ran between them. It was beautiful and wonderful, and so terrifying, because what if he lost this, lost her, like he lost everything else? He didn't think he would survive, probably wouldn't want to.

The sudden thought was like ice down his back, shattering the peaceful moment into a million tiny pieces. He pulled back from Lucy, breaking the contact between him and desperately trying to pull his soul back from the places it now mingled with hers. It was hopeless, extracting himself from her now would be impossible. He was truly and utterly fucked.

He cleared his throat and started to stand, which forced Lucy to step back or be knocked over. His words came out stilted and unsure as he said, "I should go talk to Jellal and the others. I learned a lot before passing out that they need to know if we're going to stop this guy before he moves on with his crazy ass plan."

She nodded as she said, "Ok, that's probably a good idea." Her carefree words were in complete contrast with her soul as it cried out for his. She knew on a soul-deep level that something was wrong but didn't know how to help. Continuing in the same false tone, she picked up his cut up clothing as she said, "I'll just head to my apartment to get it ready for having another person there for awhile."

He nodded noncommittally and walked ahead of her toward the door. As they both descended the stairs, he could clearly hear her doubting he would actually show up at her apartment later, and he wondered if she could hear him having the same doubts. When she paused to look back at him before walking through the guild doors, he was fairly certain she could.

Already knowing where his teammates were at, Cobra headed toward the back of the open room. He felt exposed walking through the crowded guildhall without his coat. It was odd to realize how attached he'd gotten to the garment. Or maybe his head was just all fucked up because of all the damn feelings flowing back and forth between himself and the blonde chick – he couldn't think about her when there were more important things to do.

The mages seated in groups around tables were speculating over Crime Sorciere's sudden arrival, wondering if they were the injured group brought in by Mest and why they were having a secret meeting with some of Fairy Tail's most powerful members. Some of the nosey bastards were too observant, having noticed the awkwardness between him and Lucy in the brief moments it took to get from the infirmary to the first floor. He needed to get really fucking far away from this place.

When he made it to the group, Jellal looked up from where he was seated next to Erza and nodded at Cobra in greeting. He returned the gesture and then looked around at the others, listening in as they discussed the possible uses of the glowing stone wielded by Ken, the dark mage. When he made eye contact with Natsu, the other slayer narrowed his eyes in clear warning. Cobra could hear Natsu wondering what was wrong with Lucy and why she left instead of joining the group. Cobra ignored the stare, looking away as if unbothered, but Natsu wouldn't be deterred. "Hey Cobra, where's Luce?"

Cobra looked back at the other man as he lied, "How the hell should I know?"

_I knew you were no good for her._ Natsu's answering thought stabbed Cobra in the heart but he acted unaffected. The pink haired man jumped up, his carefree appearance not betraying his inner irritation, and announced to everyone, "I'm gonna go find Luce. See ya!"

Cobra turned his attention back to the group, relieved no one seemed to notice the undercurrent between him and Natsu - until he picked up on the thoughts of a familiar soul. He looked over at Sorano to see her watching him with one brow raised in question. When he just stared at her unblinking, she shook her head and rolled her eyes, letting it go for the moment but not for long. She would be bugging him later.

Jellal pulled Cobra's attention back to the topic at hand, asking, "What can you tell us about the mage's plans?"

"I don't have much on his plans, but I can tell you how he's going to accomplish them." As he spoke, Cobra moved to stand with his back leaned against the wall to put as much distance as possible between him and the noise surrounding him. "He's abducting and draining the magic of any mage he can find who uses magic derived from a source of light. So your heavenly magic, any remaining celestial mages, probably even the spark plug's lightning magic. The Heavenly Magic attack you hit him with boosted the fucking rock up enough to get the guy excited even through his pain. I don't know what the hell he's going to do after absorbing the stone, but that's the next step of his plan. Just before I passed out, I could hear him thinking it might be powered up enough now for him to absorb its power."

Erza asked, "What good would it do him to absorb the power of the stone when he clearly has powerful magic of his own?"

Cobra answered, "He's trying to get rid of his innate magic by replacing it with the stone's power. He's hoping to override his death magic with light magic to get rid of it. Some bullshit about being tired of killing people and wanting power over death."

"But he's killed so many to get this far." Jellal added in confusion.

Shruggin, Cobra added, "I didn't say the shit made sense. That's just what I heard from his soul."

The gathered mages were quiet as they considered the information until Freed spoke. "After thinking over Jellal's retelling of the fight, it seems the stone can augment the wielder's power and control. My hypothesis on the spell cast over your teammates," he said while nodding toward Sorano, Meredy and Midnight, "is that the stone allowed the mage to cast a spell using his death magic to a lesser degree, rendering his opponents unconscious but not dead."

From his spot next to Freed, Laxus added, "Maybe, but why not kill them? He's killed so many already. Why would it matter if he killed them?"

Jellal answered, "It's possible he's been accidentally killing those around him his entire life and now wants to change, but will continue killing as the means to his desired end. If I am correct, he will avoid causing death when possible."

"If that's the case," Cobra added, "then we need to go looking for all the missing people. He's probably got a bunch of them locked up somewhere as prisoners, alive but trapped. We might have been wrong to assume they were all dead."

The group went on to discuss plans, agreeing they needed to search for Ken and the missing mages. If they were lucky, they would all be in one place. Jellal, Erza and Laxus discussed the best way to divide up their teams since Fairy Tail would be joining Crime Sorciere on the mission. Cobra tuned most of this out, focusing on Lucy's soul. He was surprised how clear her soul was to him even with the distance between them. He could always pick up on her soul, but this was like they were in the same room. He heard her disappointment over the way they parted and hope that he would come by later. He even knew the moment Natsu jumped through her window, irritated with the happiness that flooded her soul at the arrival of her friend.

He really didn't like the way Natsu felt about Lucy. The other dragon slayer was too possessive of the woman, wanting her to be his in all ways, though he didn't have romantic feelings for her. Cobra recognized it was probably the guy's dragon soul creating a tendency to hoard, but it didn't make him feel any better about it.

After what felt like an eternity, the planning ended and the other mages drifted away, leaving only Midnight, Meredy and Sorano at the table. Cobra remained standing against the wall with his eye closed, listening in on Lucy's soul while keeping tabs on the souls around him. He felt a little like a stalker with how closely he was focused on her but he couldn't bring himself to stop. She was better than she had been just after leaving, but disappointment was settling in as the hours went by and Cobra didn't show up. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he was glad when she finally dozed off on her bed while reading a book. The hum of her soul became a relaxed melody that he could enjoy now that Natsu was out of her apartment.

Sorano's bitchy voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Why are you still here?"

Without opening his eye, Cobra answered, "Where the fuck do you think I should go?"

"Idiot." Midnight muttered from his spot slumped on the table with his face in his arms. Leaning against Midnight, Meredy said, "He's right. You're being an idiot. You need to go see Lucy."

He finally cracked his eye open to look at the pink haired demon. She stared right back at him, unfazed by his glare and understanding too much for his liking. Cobra didn't know if it was her magic or a gift she was born with, but the young woman was good with emotions, intuitive in a way that most people never were. Not that it took a genius to know there was something between him and Lucy after she'd witnessed their earlier interactions, or to know Lucy was upset when she left.

"Fuck." Cobra said as he stood upright. He both liked and hated how well these three knew him. "Fine. I'm going."

"Make sure to wrap it up." Sorano said as he walked away. She focused on creating vivid mental images of him fucking Lucy in every position she could think of. Cobra couldn't help but laugh as he walked away without responding.

He took his time walking to Lucy's apartment, taking a round-about route to make the trip longer. His body still ached where he had been injured and fatigue weighed heavily on him, so his pace was slow. Dying really took the life right out of him. He laughed at his own bad joke, knowing Lucy would have laughed too. He really didn't want to keep thinking about her, but the closer he got to her apartment, the more she consumed him. Her sleeping soul was reaching out to his and he couldn't keep fighting the pull. Part of him was worried about what this meant for his future. His soul had become so deeply bonded to hers that it felt like he couldn't stay away from her for even a few hours.

When he got to her front door, he walked right in, knowing she'd left it unlocked for him. Not a great idea, but he'd been paying enough attention to her that he would have known immediately if anyone approached her apartment.

Once inside, he kicked off his shoes and walked straight to her bed, no longer trying to convince himself that's not where he'd intended go since knowing she'd fallen asleep in it. He wanted nothing more than to lie next to her and sleep the way they had a few nights ago.

So that's what he did. Just like last time, she cooperated while sleeping, allowing him to wrap himself around her without waking. The same peace he felt earlier settled over him as soon as their bodies were intertwined. The feeling was so foreign that it almost bothered him, but he ignored the discomfort, focusing on the melody of Lucy's soul playing so closely to him. He could almost see the way her soul embraced his, wrapping around him to draw him closer. Still mostly asleep, she mumbled, "You're finally here."

He hummed in acknowledgement, and then kissed her forehead as she had kissed his earlier. It was something he'd never done before, but it felt right, his lips on her skin to comfort her. A thrum coursed through his body but he lay still, not having the energy to follow that path now. Maybe tomorrow, or maybe never. He still wasn't sure how far he was willing to take this. But for now he would sleep and hope the next morning wasn't as awkward as he thought it might be.


	6. Chapter 6

**This version of chapter 6 is exactly the same but shouldn't have the formatting issues of the first posting. Thank you SassyKiki!**

Ceramic pots thumped against the countertop as Lucy unloaded her shopping bag. She was careful not to touch the plants, unsure if touching either one would cause a reaction. The bag of poisonous berries sat next to the plants, but Lucy thought better of leaving any of her purchases on the kitchen counter where she might accidentally poison herself. Instead, she moved them to the window sill, hoping Natsu wouldn't climb through the window before she decided where to store the dangerous items permanently.

The plate of pancakes was no longer next to the stove and she could hear the shower running, so she figured Cobra was out of bed. Waking up next to her bedmate had been less strange than it usually felt waking up next to anyone that wasn't her teammate. That was likely because there was little to cause morning-after regrets since they'd only cuddled, plus he looked sickly. His skin had been washed out and pale instead of its deeply tanned color. He looked more like he had the flu than on the healing side of recovering from fatal injuries. He hadn't stirred when she'd gotten up, though she was fairly certain he was awake. She could feel his alertness, like the fog of sleep hadn't quite left his mind but he was alert enough to know where he was.

Lucy had managed to untangle her limbs from his so she could slip out of the bed. He hadn't gotten up throughout her entire morning routine or when she'd cooked breakfast. She'd looked in on him one more time, finding him curled tightly on his side beneath the blanket with a pillow smashed over his face, so she decided to leave him alone and track down some natural poisons. Lucy hoped fueling his magic would clear up the last of his lingering injuries, assuming that was the problem.

A few more minutes passed before the shower turned off and the bathroom door opened. Cobra rounded the corner into the living area wearing more of Gray's castoffs that Lucy knew had been in her dresser. When she raised a brow in question, Cobra waved away her thought and said, "I didn't dig through your panties. I already knew where the clothes were from last time."

"Oh ok, glad you're not a perv like the other guys in my life." She smiled when he rolled his eye and went on, "You look pretty terrible. I got some poisons that might help."

Cobra looked over at the plants and asked in surprise, "Are those holly berries?" His feet started moving before he even realized it. He tore open the bag and tossed a handful into his mouth. Holly berries were one of his favorite plant based poisons. Lucy laughed when he moaned in pleasure but he ignored her as he ate a few more. Around the berries, he nodded at the flowering plants asking, "Why'd you pick those two plants?"

"Well, I already knew hydrangeas were toxic if ingested because we had a stupid dog that ate flowers when I was a kid. He died, which I'm sure you guessed. I asked the worker at the plant nursery if there were any other plants I should look out for and he warned me about how toxic oleander plants could be, so I bought one of those too." She smiled a little at the memory as she added, "I'm pretty sure he thought I was planning to commit murder when I added the holly berries to my order."

Cobra snorted as he picked a leaf from the oleander plant and popped it in his mouth. "Yeah, probably. You could kill a crowd with this shit." He could feel the toxins circulating in his system, relieving some of his ongoing weakness.

"Is it helping?" Lucy asked as she stepped closer and placed the back of her hand against his cheek. She was worried about the pale and clammy look to his skin.

He flinched away at the contact and swatted at her hand. "I'm not a fucking child."

"Oh, get over yourself. I just want to make sure you're alright. You look sick." She stepped forward and aggressively grabbed both sides of his face, pulling his head down closer to hers. "And your pupil is dilated. Maybe I should ask Wendy to come check you out again."

"Damn it, woman." He pulled her hands away from his face and stepped out of her reach. "I'll be fine in a little while. These plants have enough toxins to give my magic a boost for a week. It'll heal me better than Little Blue can." He wouldn't admit to Lucy that he had been ok, not great but tolerable, until she'd gotten out of the bed earlier. The pain in his head had increased tenfold, becoming nearly unbearable. He'd barely had the energy to get up and shower, only the tempting smell of food pulled him from beneath the blanket and pillow.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone for now." Lucy reluctantly walked back to her kitchen to wash the few dishes left behind from cooking breakfast.

Cobra hoped what he said wasn't a lie. He knew part of his weakness was due to needing strong poisons in his body, but there was something more he couldn't identify. His body felt weak, the fatigue from the evening before still present. Something was draining his energy. Even after sleeping well for several hours, an odd thing for him, he still felt tired. He had an idea of what it might be but didn't know how to begin addressing it.

From the kitchen, Lucy asked loudly, "Do you think that guy's magic is still affecting you?"

What the fuck? Did she just pick that up through their connection? Cobra still hated the bond more often than he liked it. As much as he was starting to get attached to Lucy, something he'd finally admitted to himself while eating the pancakes she'd cooked with him in mind, he still didn't want anyone in his head. He was a hypocrite but didn't care. Eventually he answered, "I dunno. It might be."

The sound of water sliding over dishes ended just before Lucy leaned against the sink while she thought over the possibility. Her mind was quick, putting together things Cobra hadn't told her. She didn't know the dark mage planned to absorb light magic to replace his death magic, but she guessed light magic could counteract the effects of a death spell. The intelligent blonde was putting together an idea that might actually work. When she'd gotten her thoughts together, she walked out of the kitchen and sat on the floor in the open area where the dining table used to stand. She patting the spot in front of her as she said, "You already know what I'm thinking so get over here."

"So demanding. Can I even get a please?" Cobra grumbled as he grabbed the last few holly berries from the bag and left it empty on the window sill.

"Pretty please, my prickly pear?" Lucy asked in a high pitched voice. Cobra had to swallow down a giggle at her words, the effects of the toxins kicking in. This was why he loved holly berries.

He sat in front of her while saying, "I guess since you asked nicely." He tossed the last few berries into his mouth and mirrored her position, legs bent and crossed in front of him with his hands on his knees. Lucy scooted forward until their knees touched and grabbed his hands, turning them palm up. She placed her palms into his and relaxed her fingers around his wrists, then closed her eyes. Relief swept through him at her touch and he could feel the light of her magic cancelling out the darkness of the death magic still trapped within his body.

"You just want to hold my hand." Cobra joked, unable to stifle urge to giggle that time. The mix of holly berries and oleander leaves was more potent that he'd expected. The high mixed with the sudden drop in pain from her touch and he was feeling really good.

"Maybe later. Right now I'm trying to save you." She cracked an eye open for a moment and smirked as she thought, _Again_.

_I'm sure I'll have to save your clumsy ass again soon._

Without opening her eyes again, Lucy smiled widely, having heard his thought. He figured she would. She was in the beginning stages of meditation and they were connected physically through their hands, so she would probably pick up on most of his thoughts now. He focused on clearing his mind of all the ridiculous, bubbly rambling brought on by the deadly toxins. It would be best to avoid her hearing the shit swirling around in his head, so he did his best to keep his attention on watching her work.

The power in the room grew as Lucy drew on her magic. Having done this regularly for so long, she was able to tap right into her second origin, pulling forward a heavy load of power. It twisted around the pair with their hands being the center point of the swirling energy. Cobra could smell the power of the Celestial World, recognizing it from the celestial spirits he'd encountered over the years. It was crisp, like the cold air on a snow covered mountain, but sweet like flowers blooming at midnight – a poetic thought he hoped hadn't just been broadcast to Lucy. No need to let anyone know he had more emotional depth than a puddle.

A glowing ball of magic formed over each of their joined hands, the two orbs spinning wildly. The bright light seemed to emit a warmth that permeated Cobra's skin, seeping into his pores and pumping through his veins. His breath came fast and his eye widened at the sensation. Lucy's magic was entering his body, spreading through him leaving behind a feeling completely the opposite of the death magic. The essence of life flowed into his body through their joined hands and poured into his soul through their bond.

Lucy's loose hair floated in the whipping air, her skin glowing and features taking on an ethereal quality. Cobra stared, no longer caring if she picked up on his thoughts as he became awestruck by her beauty. Her head tipped back slightly as the power surged to a new height, lips parting with a sharp intake of breath. The same rush hit him a second later as the magic entering his body and soul seemed to join somewhere in his core, impacting with the dark remnants of the death spell. His chest bowed forward and his head flung back as the darkness sizzled and then fled from his body, dispersing into nothingness in the light magic surrounding them.

Lucy released her magic, letting it settle back into her as she opened her eyes. Cobra nearly collapsed into her when the forceful flow of magic ceased suddenly. He pressed against his knees, her hands still covering his, as he sat back upright and looked at her. Both were left panting heavily from the experience, remaining silent as they stared at each other..

"It's gone." He whispered, feeling anything louder would shatter the atmosphere. The dark spell had been erased entirely, leaving him free of the weight he hadn't realized was pressing down on him. Beyond that, there was a lightness in his chest he'd never experienced. Something about her magic completed him; filling the gaps in his soul that had existed for so long he didn't know what it was like to live without them.

They moved on the same breath, leaning into each other, meeting where their lips touched. Her hands were on his chest, fingers spread wide while he fisted her hair, pulling her closer to him. Lips parting, their tongues met and the tingling burn of his ever present poison raced across her taste buds. She moaned at the flavor, sliding her hands up and behind his neck. They both rose to their knees, bodies pressing together in need. He bit at her full lower lip then released it to kiss along her jaw to her neck, where he sucked gently on her skin and pinched it between his teeth. His hands traveled down the sides of her breasts to her waist until he reached her hips, pulling her against him.

A sound of pleasure escaped Lucy as she ran her hands down and around to his back, enjoying the way his muscles flexed as he moved. She pushed her hands beneath the hem of his shirt, wanting to feel his skin against her palms. Cobra shuddered at the contact, loving the way her hands felt on him, how she didn't notice or care about the unusual texture of his scarred skin. Lucy pulled her hands around to his front, feeling the ridges of his abdomen and back up to his chest, now bare beneath her fingers. She pushed against him, making him fall backwards onto the floor. Moving her legs to either side of him, she straddled his waist and looked down at him, his shirt halfway up his body exposing the delicious looking skin of his torso.

Cobra's hands slid from Lucy's hips to beneath her short skirt, rising to palm the globes of her ass, gripping tightly. "You're feistier than I expected." He pressed up into her core, making her hiss with pleasure

Lucy leaned down to nibble on his ear and then whispered, "You have no idea." The images flitting through her mind of everything she wanted to do reassured him that there was an entirely different side to this woman that needed to be explored.

As she worked her way down his neck, sucking and nibbling on his skin while grinding into his hardness, Cobra had a brief moment of clarity. His distracted mind focused just long enough to notice the way their souls seems to be merging together. He put his hands against her shoulders, pushing her away as he said, "We have to stop."

Lucy's hands trailed down his body as she let him push her up. "What's wrong?" Her sex addled brain was slow to pick up on their connection, but she heard his thoughts after a second.

-_souls are merging together. Fucking soul bond is the biggest cock block I've ever run into._

"Oh." She said, her demeanor switching from turned on to shocked disappointment in the space of a heartbeat. "I guess merging would be bad, huh."

"Yeah, we'd be tied together tighter than an old married couple with eleven kids." Cobra's hands had a mind of their own where they rested on her smooth thighs, drawing a moan from Lucy as his thumbs slid back and forth on the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs. She had the best fucking legs he'd ever seen, and her ass was the perfect combination of firm but soft.

Lucy's soft laugh drew his attention back up to her face. She smiled down at him, tracing along the contours of his stomach as she said, "I don't think you're half bad yourself."

Cobra turned his head away, knowing he was probably blushing up to his ears. Fucking soul bond giving everything away. He looked back at her face, noticing how red and inflamed her lips were. The irritation made a trail that mapped every place his mouth had touched from her lips down to her neck. He reached up to stroke a thumb across her bottom lip as he said, "I think you're having a reaction to the holly berries, or maybe the oleander. You're going to feel like shit soon if I don't give you an antidote."

Lucy ran her teeth over her lip, only now realizing how irritated the tender flesh was. "Well, go ahead. I don't want to get sick as repayment for helping you." She looked at his hands, expecting to see a gas leaking from his fingertips like the last time he'd used his poison magic on her.

With a smirk, he said, "I have a better idea."

He leaned up, capturing her mouth with his and pulling her bottom lip between his. He ran his tongue across the plump flesh, and then gave her other lip the same treatment. When he pushed his tongue into her mouth, swiping it across hers, she could taste the difference. The taste of his kiss had been tangy before but now tasted sweet, granting relief to the slight burning sensation in her mouth. The slight nausea she had hardly noticed creeping on before faded immediately.

When he broke the kiss, her hands held him close to her. Hoping to keep things moving forward, she brushed her lips against his as she whispered, "Would it really be so bad?"

"Worse than you could imagine, I'm sure." He gently kissed her lips once more before pulling away completely. Everything inside him protested ending this moment instead of fully bonding with her, all except the small doubt he still carried. It told him he would ruin Lucy, with nothing to offer her but the pain of his existence.

He could feel her objections forming, so he cut her off with, "Besides, your partner is almost here and I'd rather be gone before he sees me. I don't feel like dealing with his bullshit so early."

Lucy stood up and adjusted her clothes as she muttered, "Damn it, Natsu."

Lucy watched Cobra as he walked to the front door, stopping to shove his feet into his boots. Separating from him now, knowing he was leaving, it was causing a pain in her chest so severe that it felt physical. The desire she had for him, not just sexually but on a deeper level, left a hollow place inside her. Delaying his departure, she asked, "Are you going to the guild?"

"Yeah, got shit to plan before we head out again." Cobra stood up straight and looked at Lucy, unsure how to walk away. He could feel her soul crying out for his and knew his was doing the same for hers. It almost hurt, but it was for the best.

She gestured toward the hooks on the wall and said, "Virgo mended your coat. It should be just like it was before."

He nodded and slipped into the garment, then opened the door. He looked back at her one more time before turning away and closing it behind him. The click of the door securing into the frame sounded just before Natsu's feet hit the outer edge of the window.

Lucy hurried over to move the plants before Natsu knocked them down as he climbed through. Her partner opened his mouth to say something about the ugly new flowers, but the scents in the air hit him, distracting him from the comment. He landed on the floor and then turned to look at Lucy with a look of surprise and betrayal on his face. "Seriously, Luce?"

She put her hands on her hips, preparing for the argument. "Seriously, what?"

"Not only are you messing around with Cobra, but Gray too?" His voice rose and his hands waved around as he exclaimed. "What the hell?! Why didn't you invite me? You always say no when I ask but you finally said yes to Gray?! It's not fair!"

Laughter burst from Lucy, doubling her over as she slapped her knees. She could feel Cobra's amusement through their connection, so he could probably hear everything through both her and Natsu's souls. When she could speak again, she said, "Natsu, no. Dear God above, no. I did _not_ invite Gray over for a threesome with me and Cobra."

The pink haired man looked confused as he said, "Then why –"

"Gray hasn't been here. Cobra was wearing some of his clothes."

Natsu's eyebrows scrunched in confusion and then shot up to his hairline. "Oh!" He exclaimed, repeating again louder, "Oooh!"

Lucy's laughter died out when Natsu's expression turned to one of disappointment. Before she could ask what his problem was, he said, "Why him, Luce?"

"What do you mean?" She asked as she turned away to go get some water. The taste of Cobra was still strong on her tongue, so that meant Natsu could probably smell him on her breath. Being a dragon slayer had to be weird.

Natsu followed her into the kitchen as he spoke, "He's just going to hurt you."

"Why do you think that? You were fine with us being friends. Why is this so much worse?" She handed him a glass of water, knowing he would take hers if she didn't.

"I dunno, Luce." Natsu stared down into the water as if it might hold the answers. He thought for a few seconds before saying, "It was ok because Cobra needed you. He needed a friend. The guy was messed up and needed a good person like you to help him out. But this is different and I'm worried about you. You love people too easily and somebody like him doesn't know how to love at all."

Lucy was dumbfounded at Natsu's words. It still amazed her sometimes how deeply her best friend understood her. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he had a valid concern. She already cared deeply for Cobra but he seemed to pull away every chance he got.

Natsu added, "Ya know, if it's just about needing some dick," his voice trailed off while he gestured to himself with his free hand.

Lucy snorted and then said, "Never gonna happen. I don't know how you and Gray are able to have sex without it changing your friendship."

He shrugged off her comment as he said, "Alright, but it's your loss. The invitation is always open if you change your mind."

"Thanks, but no." Lucy shook her head trying to ward off the images his suggestion brought to her mind. "Seriously, though, I'll be ok."

"Well, duh, cause you have me." He declared and then drank his entire glass of water in one go. When she set hers down half empty, he finished it off for her.

The pair headed to the guild after Lucy fed Natsu breakfast because was 'starving' since he'd only eaten one meal after waking up, which Lucy assumed was probably only an hour earlier, though it was nearly midday. The guildhall was as packed as the day before with most of the mages unable to go out on a job request. There was talk of Master Makarov assigning community service as a way to improve the guild's image. Lucy hoped he would just do it already to give everyone something to do.

Bored Fairy Tail mages were always drunk, which meant Natsu was pulled into a brawl shortly after they walked through the door. He was smiling happily when a chair smashed into the back of his head. When he popped back up, he looked at Lucy with his thumbs up saying, "I'm ok!" and then jumped into the fray.

She just shook her head and walked up the stairs, hoping to find some sane people at the top. The individuals she found could mostly be described as sane, or close enough. Cobra's huff of laughter drew her eyes to his place leaned against the wall behind the table occupied by his team. When he didn't return her gaze, she got the idea. Their soul bond had been closed off for a little while now. The lack of connection left her feeling raw but she tried not to focus on it, unsure what she could even do about the obstacle between them. He seemed to be against wherever this soul bond was taking them but she had already accepted it. Call it fate or just the inevitable outcome of their situation, but she didn't have a problem with it. His ongoing resistance was starting to get to her, though.

She walked over to sit with Levy at the only other table, knowing Gajeel's absence meant he was part of the brawl on the lower level. Freed and Laxus sat opposite them, the former with a book in hand and the latter with his headphones on. They were an odd couple, in Lucy's opinion, but she could kinda see it now that it was a thing. They balanced each other, probably in the same way she and Cobra would balance each other. She looked over at him to see if he'd pick up on that, but he continued to ignore her.

Pushing away the hint of rejection she was feeling, she said, "Hey, Lev, whatcha readin?" Looking over the smaller woman's shoulder, she could see an old book about magical objects.

Without looking up, Levy answered, "I think I found information on the stone used by the dark mage they're looking for. If I'm right, it's called the Stone of Light and it's really powerful when used properly."

"That sounds like a bad thing." Lucy said with a frown.

"Definitely," The script mage said, nodding her head vigorously. "It operates similarly to a battery, but with an endless capacity. In theory, if it were charged long enough, the stone could be detonated like a bomb with the magical output taking out an entire city. But it doesn't sound like that's what he's doing."

The ruckus from downstairs filled the silence as Levy flipped through a few pages until she found what she was looking for. "Read this page. It's all about how to use the stone to cleanse an infestation of dark power."

Lucy skimmed over the words while asking, "So, this mage could cleanse his death magic and then, what? Use the stone as a new source of magic?"

"Essentially, yes." Levy agreed then went on. "The problem with that will be the stone's stored energy will continually run out, so he will need to have a way of restoring it. The stone can draw power from natural light sources like the sun or stars, but doing it that way would take much longer than simply stealing magic from a mage."

"That explains a lot," Lucy said quietly as she continued reading over the text, filling in the details Levy left out of her explanation. The book didn't say, but Lucy was fairly certain the mage's plan would make him insane if he succeeded. There would be no balance in his magical containers. His natural magic would be gone, replaced with a source that would fluctuate depending on how often or how strongly he drew on it. Not to mention his body may not accept a magic type totally the opposite of his natural affinity.

When she reached the portion explaining the writer's theory on the stone's origin, Lucy gasped in shock. "I might be able to track it!"

"How?" Jellal asked as he stood and moved to the table shared by the two women.

Lucy slid the book to him when he sat next to her, pointing at the section she'd just read. "If it's true that the stone came from the Celestial World, I should be able to feel it the same way I can feel keys."

The leader of Crime Sorciere asked, "Does that mean Sorano could find it as well?"

Lucy looked at the former Celestial Mage and hesitated before speaking. "Maybe, but that will depend on how in tune she is with her Celestial magic. Do you still practice it?"

Turning her nose in the air, Sorano snapped, "No. Why would I? That magic is inferior."

"Right." Lucy muttered sarcastically, trying but failing to contain her offense with underlying frustration already affecting her mood. "Anyway, the answer to your question, Jellal, would be a solid no. She probably couldn't feel an object from the Celestial World until it slapped her in the face."

Sorano squawked in indignation while her teammates laughed, including Jellal who tried to cover his amusement with a cough. Once he recovered, he said, "So you're our best hope to finding Ken quickly."

Lucy shrugged as she said, "Maybe. That depends on if the stone truly is celestial in origin."

"Well, that decides it. You'll have to come with us." He said with a nod that seemed to settle all chance of argument in his mind.

"It was in question?" Lucy asked in irritation. No way were they leaving her out of this, even if it was a little reckless to go chasing after a dark mage that may target her for her light magic.

"There's a great chance you would be abducted during any battle with the mage, especially if the stone has increased in strength." Jellal answered somberly, confirming her assumptions.

"Well, damn." Lucy huffed. "I hate getting kidnapped. It's such a hassle."

Her blasé attitude drew snickers from everyone but Cobra, who finally looked her way but only to glare at her.

Jellal went on, unintentionally offending Lucy. "We will keep you out of the battle with the mage to ensure your safety."

Lucy didn't respond but a slight twitch in her brow gave away her frustration with being so easily disregarded. Like always, she was being pushed to the side so she wouldn't get caught up in the danger of a battle. Did Jellal forget Lucy had been part of two major battles against the members of his guild, whom she played a part in defeating?

The soul bond came open and she felt a surge of Cobra's irritation with her thoughts. His sudden willingness to communicate with her only made her angrier. Hadn't he just been ignoring her, and for no logical reason that she could think of? But now he felt like communicating when it suited him? It just pissed her off more.

She turned an annoyed look on him and thought, _I don't remember asking your opinion._

"Tch" he hissed quietly as he looked away. His growing ire poured into her for a brief second before he shut down their connection again.

Erza made her way over to sit next to Jellal, crowding their side of the small table further. Done with the ongoing brawl, the requip mage had climbed the stairs just in time to hear the last few things said. "I can attest to Lucy's battle prowess. She has grown greatly and is now much more proficient in a fight."

"Exactly. I'm not an untrained 17 year old anymore." Lucy added, taking an obvious shot at a few of the individuals nearby.

"We'll see about that." Cobra snapped rudely at her as he moved to leave. His teammates all looked at him, surprised by his outburst. All the souls gathered in the seating area were suddenly abuzz with curiosity, not understanding why he was so angry over the conversation. Most of them had no idea he and Lucy were more than acquaintances or, at most, friends in passing. He descended the stairs and left the guild, walking with no direction in mind. He needed to get the fuck away from Lucy.

His anger had grown more and more as the conversation progressed, to the point he might accidentally start releasing poison into the air. He was pissed off at Lucy for being difficult, at Jellal for agreeing to allow her to help, but mostly with himself for caring. Why the fuck did he even care? She should mean nothing to him, but instead he was so attached to her that he could hardly function without thinking of her. And it wasn't like he could move forward with her. He was just stuck in this fucking limbo of halfway permanently bonded. The added closeness from their exchange this morning only made it worse. He could barely contain himself around her with the way his soul tried pushing him to be near her.

He'd felt great when he left her apartment, if not a little torn apart by leaving without her. The feeling of euphoria was crushed as he listened in on her conversation with Natsu. Cobra hated realizing how right the other dragon slayer was. Lucy would only end up hurt in a relationship with him. He'd known that all along, but it was hard to accept when someone else pointed it out.

Trying to avoid her apartment, Cobra walked in the opposite direction until he was on the outskirts of town. He stopped abruptly, knowing he was being followed.

"What the fuck do you want?" He asked without turning.

"Just making sure you don't do anything stupid." Midnight answered as he walked the remaining distance to stand beside his long-time friend. They stood side by side in silence for a short time, staring into the forest beyond. Midnight waited patiently, knowing Cobra would speak when he was ready.

Eventually, Cobra said, "The fire eater is right. I can't offer her anything and will only end up hurting her."

Midnight didn't know all the details but it didn't matter. He was really just here for Cobra to vent. He could find out what happened later. Without an opinion to offer, he asked, "Well, what does she think about it?"

"She doesn't disagree that I'll hurt her but thinks it's worth it." He huffed a self deprecating laugh and scuffed a boot across some dead grass while he muttered, "I don't fucking understand why, though."

The smaller man was quiet for a bit before asking, "So, what's the problem?"

Cobra shrugged, "She's too good for that."

Shaking his head, Midnight looked at his friend and said, "Erik, you're being stupid. You go along with everyone else's ideas, not giving a shit about what goes on in the world as long as you have something to do each day. You never give a fuck about anything, but now you do? Just go for it. Be selfish for once."

When Cobra stayed quiet, Midnight added, "Can it really even be considered selfish to accept something someone is offering to you freely?"

Still silent, Cobra considered what his friend was saying and waited for him to finish, knowing he's wasn't done yet. The other man always had a lot to say once he got started. Cobra was proven correct when Midnight continued his speech, "I've never known you to be selfish. Yes, you're a murderous asshole with a temper to rival a demon, but you're not selfish. You need to go for what you want this time or you'll lose her, probably to her partner. I've seen the way he looks at her and even at Erza sometimes. He wants all of his team to be a weird, sex sharing, job taking family. If you wait too long and she gets lonely or heartbroken enough, she'll probably do it just to fill the hole."

"She would be better off with them."

"Would she, though?" Midnight asked, disagreeing. "She seems like the type to want devotion and commitment. She wouldn't get that in a polyamorous relationship."

Unwilling to admit Midnight might be right, Cobra remained silent again.

"Let her teach you how to love. It's not so hard when you have someone showing you how." Thoughts of Meredy filled Midnight, showing Cobra exactly how the other man learned to love through the pink haired woman.

"Disgusting." Cobra spat, finally speaking again. "You can keep that shit to yourself."

Midnight laughed softly and said, "It's not like you didn't already know."

"Yeah, but I didn't need to relive it." Cobra said as he turned to start walking back the way he came. He wasn't fully convinced he should pursue this connection with Lucy but he wasn't so angry now. It would be safe for him to be around people without accidentally poisoning someone.

The two men walked in silence while Cobra tried to locate Lucy through their bond. He opened it up fully again, a little disappointed to realize she'd figured out how to clamp down on her end of the bond. It didn't surprise him since she seemed to figure everything out with time, but he was hoping to find comfort in her endless emotions.

Even with the dampened connection, he could tell she was near her apartment but not in it, probably at the market on the next block. His magic worked in his favor, allowing him to press past her attempt to block him and listen to her soul as he would anyone else's instead of through their soul bond.

Her earlier frustration with him was still present, but it was now overshadowed by sadness. Knowing he was the cause of her sadness tugged at him, making his desire to see her grow. Maybe he would try talking to her about this to see where things went.

He was still several blocks away when it became clear the person she was interacting with made her uncomfortable. Cobra tried hearing the soul of the other person but couldn't, as if something was blocking his magic. Realization settled in at the same moment Lucy noticed she could feel a celestial object on the person, alerting her to the man's identity.

Suddenly, Lucy's presence disappeared entirely. Cobra started running in a blind panic with Midnight a few steps behind him shouting, "What happened?"

"He's here. Ken, he's here!" Cobra said and didn't bother to explain any further.

Half a minute passed and the two men were nearing the site of her disappearance when her soul pinged Cobra's magic again. Her soul had reemerged several blocks over but she was hurt, badly.

"Shit!" Cobra exclaimed, turning back and then going to the right down a side street he hoped would put them in the correct direction. He couldn't pick up on Ken's soul at all, but nothing in Lucy's soul indicated the dark mage was still near her. Her recent memory told him Ken had tried to abduct her but she fought back savagely, and then broken his nose when he tried to steal her keys. When his attempted abduction ended in failure, he'd stabbed her in the stomach out of anger and left her to die.


	7. Chapter 7

Cobra found her lying in a pool of her own blood.

Her soul screamed its agony to him. The hurt of his earlier rejection was now overshadowed by the fear left behind from the attack and pain from the knife wound. Overriding it all was pure terror.

Her soul knew it was dying.

The scents in the alley were overwhelming – Lucy's blood, Ken's blood, trash, urine, unknown debris. He recognized the guy kneeling over her putting pressure on the wound. The lion spirit was crying and whispering to Lucy to keep her awake. Cobra fell to his knees on her other side, drawing her attention to him.

"Lucy," her name came out as a choked whisper, a prayer he didn't know how to recite. She had become everything to him in such a short time. He couldn't lose her now. The relief she felt at the sight of him had guilt weighing down on him. This was his fault. He shouldn't have left.

Her lips trembled as she whispered his name and reached for him with a blood soaked hand. Cobra held her bloody hand in one of his and stroked her face with the other. So much blood was still pouring from the knife wound that she was fading from consciousness quickly. When her eyelids drooped, he tapped her cheek while saying. "Hey, hey stay with me."

Her eyes popped open again and she looked at him with a glassy stare. He could feel her attention fully on him, trying to distract herself from the pain by narrowing her focus down to only his face. She whispered, "Please don't leave me."

"Never again," He assured her, and he meant it. He'd never walk away from her if she survived this.

Midnight's footsteps sounded as he made it to the alleyway. Taking in the situation in a heartbeat, he asked, "Has anyone contacted the healer?"

Leo looked up at the men who had tried to kill his beloved key holder once upon a time. With her lying on the ground near death, he couldn't help but wonder at the irony that either of them cared now, having put so much effort into murdering her in the past. Pushing away the distracting thoughts, he answered, "Yes, Virgo left to find Wendy. She already checked the guildhall and is on her way to Fairy Hills."

Nodding, Midnight said, "I'm going to follow the mage's trail."

Cobra whipped his head back to his friends saying, "Do not engage him."

The smaller man rolled his eyes as he turned away muttering, "I'm not stupid."

Looking back at the lion spirit, Cobra said, "We need to move Lucy now. If we wait for Wendy to get here, she'll bleed out. Her soul is already starting to fade."

Leo didn't look up as he answered, "I can take her through the Celestial World and have her at the guildhall's infirmary within seconds, but I can't take you. You don't have the right magic or clothing to protect you in the other realm, so you wouldn't survive."

Lucy's soul panicked at the idea of Cobra leaving her side. She looked at her spirit friend and whispered, "No, Loke. He will be ok." There were so many things she was trying to convey with those few words but she couldn't put her thoughts together to do it.

Cobra held her hand tighter to reassure her he understood, having heard everything she wanted to say. "We're soul bonded. If she can go there, I can go there. Just do it. If I die, it's not your problem."

Leo agreed, not bothered at all by the idea of Cobra dying. He didn't exactly dislike the guy but he didn't care for him being with Lucy.

Hearing the spirit's willingness to try, Cobra slid his hands beneath Lucy's knees and shoulders while Leo kept pressure on the wound. A wail of pain slipped from Lucy as the change in position agitated the injury. In the space of a single heartbeat, the world shifted around them, bright light replacing the dull evening glow as the trio was transported into a world surrounded by starlight. The now familiar scent of the Celestial World filled Cobra's nostrils, and then was gone, leaving the smell of antiseptic in its place. A second burst of glowing light faded to reveal the guildhall's infirmary.

Cobra laid Lucy down on a bed, careful not to pull her away from Leo's hands where they kept pressure on the wound.

"I've informed Virgo of our location. She has Wendy en route. They are nearly here." Leo told Cobra, unaware the other man had heard the entire exchange. Cobra didn't know the spirits could communicate telepathically and wondered if it was all of them or only this guy since he was their leader.

Lucy was no longer conscious, her fight to stay awake ended as she slipped into the darkness. Her breathing had become shallow and her heart rate too fast as it tried to pump the thinning blood out to her organs. Her end of their soul bond was becoming dull, her always vibrant emotions fading away into nothingness as her body lost the battle between life and death.

Cobra knelt on the floor next to the bed, putting his head level with hers. He stroked her hair and whispered in her ear, "Stay with me, Lucy. Just a little longer."

He felt the answering trill in her soul and knew she heard him on some level. He wanted to reach out to her soul the way she had done when he was dying but had no idea how to do it. Instead, he opened up his end of the bond as wide as he could and focused on letting her feel what he felt for her. He hoped that maybe if she could feel how much he wanted her to stay, to be his, then she would find the will to hold on a little longer.

The door to the infirmary burst open as Wendy ran inside with Virgo. "Lucy!" The blue haired teen exclaimed in shock at the sight of so much blood covering someone she loved dearly. Her healing magic was active before she even reached the bed, glowing hands extended to her sister. She hovered her hands on either side of Leo's, just above the stab wound. As she worked, she muttered to herself about severed arteries and punctured organs. The damage sounded extensive but the healing happened quickly as the tissue and skin knitted back together nearly blemish free. It still wasn't enough. Wendy turned her attention to Lucy's blood supply, stimulating the production so life could be circulated back into the blonde's body. Finally, Lucy's breathing slowed, the respirations becoming deeper as her heart rate returned to a normal level.

Wendy moved on to healing the bruises forming on Lucy's face that Cobra hadn't noticed before. It looked like the dark mage tried to beat Lucy into submission. Intense anger surged through Cobra with the knowledge. He was going to kill the guy, and slowly. It wasn't often that he enjoyed taking a life, he'd mostly become indifferent to it, but this time he would savor it.

Once finished with her face, Wendy moved down to Lucy's hands, reducing the swelling in her knuckles. The healer said, "She must've hit him pretty hard because two of her knuckles are nearly broken."

The information made Cobra feel a little better, but not much. He still planned to kill Ken very painfully as soon as possible. At least now he knew what Erza said was true; Lucy could hold her own in a fight, which made Cobra feel like an ass for his earlier behavior.

Wendy's magic faded as she finished healing. "I'm going to start an IV but I'd like to clean her up first since she's stable now. Virgo, can you help me with that?"

The maid bowed slightly as she said, "Of course, Miss Wendy."

Leo drew the privacy curtain around the bed, stepping outside it while saying to Cobra, "Come on, you don't need to be there for that."

"I'm not fucking leaving her." Cobra snarled, ready to fight if it meant staying with Lucy. Why the hell did every man close to Lucy want her? Even the damn lion was possessive of her. Cobra was well aware of how amazing she was, but this was fucking ridiculous. She was bonded to him. No one else could have her.

Before the tension could escalate, Virgo cut in, "If I may, Leo," she nodded slightly in deference to her leader before continuing, "Our Princess's intentions toward the Poison Dragon Slayer are clear, and the two have already been intimate. There is no reason to protect her modesty from a man she intends to share herself with."

Leo growled but jerked the curtain fully closed, leaving Cobra inside with the fleeting curiosity of how the spirit knew so much. Wendy's face was a deep shade of red, embarrassed to hear so much about Lucy and Cobra. The teen had no idea there was something between the two of them and this was an awkward way to find out.

She stuttered a bit as she directed Virgo, "O-ok, Virgo, it's safe to clean the wounded area but be gentle. There will still be tenderness at the site."

A bucket of water and clean hand towels appeared on a small table next to Virgo. Wendy jumped a little in surprise, "Oh! That's convenient."

The pair set to work wiping the drying blood away from Lucy's skin and changing her outfit into one Virgo summoned magically. Cobra helped them by cleaning the hand he was still holding and then wiping down the rest of her arm. He changed the towel out for a clean one and then started on her face, wiping away the blood dried to her lip where it had been split by a fist. Cobra nearly vibrated with rage, realizing how much she'd endured in the short time she'd been in Ken's control. He desperately wanted to pick through her soul to hear exactly what happened but she was too deep into unconsciousness. Her soul was just a steady hum of silence. It was hard for him to hear knowing how active her soul normally was.

When the two women finished their tasks, Virgo returned to her own world with her dirtied supplies and Wendy set about starting the IV for Lucy. As she worked, Leo came back inside the privacy curtain. Cobra had heard everything turning over in the guy's mind while he waited outside the curtain but was ignoring him entirely, only focused on Lucy. He didn't want or need the spirit's apology and didn't care if the guy accepted the bond he shared with Lucy.

Because of that, he didn't bother looking up when Leo began speaking. "Look man, I'm sorry for how I acted. Lucy is the best contract holder most of us have ever had, so we're all really attached to her. It's hard to see her hurt, especially knowing there was nothing we could do to prevent it. We noticed the danger too late and by then were blocked from her magic. Without the connection through her magic, we can't open out gates to her exact location."

Cobra tucked that bit of information away to think on later and said, "I really don't give a shit about any of that and don't want your apology." He picked up on the lion's shock at his rudeness, which he also didn't care about, but he felt like he should add, "I'm glad you were there to help her afterwards, though. She might not have lived if you hadn't been there to slow the bleeding."

The zodiac leader nodded, accepting the words as the best he would get. "Well, I'm going back through my gate but we'll all be watching in case she needs anything." Leo watched Cobra until he looked up and then added, "She's really important to us."

Cobra held the other man's gaze, hearing everything that went unsaid. This spirit's bullshit was getting really fucking old. Cobra was impatient on the best of days and this was definitely not a good day. He finally answered, "She's important to me, too."

Leo disappeared in a shower of sparkles, leaving only Wendy in the room with Cobra and Lucy. He listened in on the youngest dragon slayer's soul, hearing her thoughts flitting between medical related topics to concern for Lucy. Eventually she settled on something she wanted to say to Cobra. "We all love her, but no one more than Natsu."

She paused to gather her thoughts and then turned to Cobra as she went on, "They're really close, which I'm sure you know. He's going to be out for blood when he finds out what happened. He's not the brightest, so he'll probably be after you first. It will really hurt Lucy if you two can't get along."

Cobra clenched his jaw, irritated with all the unwanted input he was receiving. He just wanted to be left alone to wait for Lucy to wake up. He could hear the young woman waiting on him to say something, so he finally said, "I'll try."

She nodded once, as if that settled things. "I'll be around. Just yell if she needs me." Always thoughtful, Wendy brought a stool over to Cobra before leaving the room, knowing it was unlikely he'd leave Lucy's side even long enough to walk across the room for it.

When the door closed behind Wendy, Cobra let out a huff of pent up energy. They were finally alone, so he didn't feel like he needed to hold back anymore. The anger he felt quickly morphed into the emotion he'd kept trapped inside – fear. Hearing and feeling her soul fade as she died… He had been so afraid of bonding with Lucy because he might lose her, but he'd nearly lost her anyway. Even without a completed bond, the agony of losing her would have driven him insane. All the time he spent pushing her away was for nothing.

He let out the tears he'd been holding in, allowing himself the emotional release with no one around to witness the weakness. He'd almost watched Lucy die, holding her hand in his as her life faded away. Her blood still scented the air in the room, keeping the highlights of the last hour on repeat in his mind. When he'd finally decided that pursuing this thing with Lucy might not end in disaster, she's nearly been taken from him. He couldn't keep pushing her away, not when doing so was hopeless. She was forever a part of him, so he may as well take everything she was willing to give.

He gently stroked her hair, not bothering to speak out loud. He allowed his emotions to trickle across their bond, its continued existence reminding him she was still there while also sharing what he felt. There was no response but he didn't stop. He wasn't always great with words, so he thought about things he wanted her to know, hoping she would pick up on them through their connection.

Master Makarov came and went, checking on Lucy's condition without alerting the other guild members of the incident. Not many knew what had happened since Lucy had been transported through the Celestial Realm. The ones that saw Wendy rush into the infirmary were told she was helping Makarov, who claimed he'd been choking on a grape. Cobra thought the old fucker was crazy, but the plan worked. He could hear the souls in the guild concerned about the old man going senile but that was nothing new for them. The evening went on as usual for the members of Fairy Tail.

It was a peaceful few hours, broken up only by Wendy coming and going to check on Lucy. After the last check up, Wendy deemed her patient stable enough to spend the rest of the night unmonitored then left for Fairy Hills to get some sleep. The calm atmosphere ended abruptly when the inevitable happened.

Late into the night, Natsu slammed into the infirmary with flames racing across his body and a scale pattern covering his skin in full Dragon Force. The privacy curtain caught fire as he jerked it open. His voice was lower than usual, almost gravelly sounding as he growled, "What happened to Lucy? Did you hurt her?"

Cobra had prepared himself for this moment, and as much as he wanted to beat the little bastard for accusing him of doing this, he did the complete opposite. Outwardly, he remained calm and unmoved as he answered, "No. I didn't do this to her. The asshole we've been after tried to abduct her but she fought him off."

The flames grew hotter as Natsu demanded, "Where is he?!"

"Put out the damn fire you started before you hurt her worse than she already is." Cobra insisted in an even tone, but when Natsu ignored him to stare at Lucy's unconscious form, he lost his patience. Standing to his feet he shouted, "What the fuck is wrong with you? Put out the fucking fire or I swear to all that is holy I will eviscerate you and hide the evidence so Lucy thinks you abandoned her again."

The cheap shot at Natsu's poor past choices got his attention. He extinguished the fire in the room, including the one raging across his body. The Fire Dragon Slayer said, "You can try, buddy, but it won't work. You're not enough to take me out."

Cobra rolled his eye and sat back down on his stool. "Shut the fuck up and listen. I'll tell you what happened. And no, it had nothing to do with me."

"We'll see about that." Natsu muttered as he sat on the edge of Lucy's bed, ignoring Cobra's territorial growl while letting out one of his own.

And so Cobra told the story beginning with when he noticed her soul disappearing, including the details he'd picked up from the souls of the two spirits. They'd witnessed some of the fight between Lucy and the dark mage through a viewing portal in their world. Ken had tried abducting Lucy but it didn't go as expected since she fought back with some skill. When he realized he couldn't take her with him, he started using the stone to drain her magic in the alley. His mistake had come when he tried stealing Lucy's keys, hoping to use them as an additional power source. Lucy's determination to defeat him doubled at that point, her protective instincts kicking into high gear. When she headbutted Ken hard enough to break his nose, he stabbed her and left her to die in the alley.

The part Cobra didn't understand was why Ken needed to recharge the stone so soon after it had absorbed Jellal's attack. The dark mage had believed it to be ready for absorption, but maybe something happened. Since the guy was on his feet after taking a strike from Cobra's poisoned claws, the dragon slayer thought it was possible the magic had been drained in healing the wound.

Now mostly calm, Natsu asked, "So what did Midnight find out?"

"Not much."Cobra answered, knowing the details since he'd made a point of listening intently to Midnight's soul earlier in the night. "He followed the guy's blood trail until it ended a few blocks away. He checked the area to make sure the guy wasn't hiding out somewhere but didn't find anything."

Natsu stood up saying, "I'll go check. I can probably track him by scent if he left blood behind."

"Doubt it. He's impossible to track by scent once he activates the stone's power."

"Psh, that's because it was you trying. I'll find him." Natsu declared as he stood up. Cobra did his best to contain his reaction as Natsu leaned down to put his forehead against Lucy's, whispering promises of finding the guy that hurt her. It wasn't a romantic gesture, but the familiarity of it bothered Cobra. The two friends were too close for his comfort, but there wasn't a fucking thing he could do about it. He knew he had to accept it if he had any chance of a future with Lucy.

Cobra let the other dragon slayer leave without bothering to try convincing him his search would be fruitless. He was confident in his own tracking abilities, so he knew the other slayer wouldn't find anything. He was just glad to be alone with Lucy again.

He checked her wound one more time, just making sure it still looked good. The pale pink line was about three inches long but looked more like an old scar than a recent injury. He pulled the hem of her shirt back down and covered Lucy with the thin blanket, hoping she wouldn't get cold. Cobra sat with his body draped over the side of the bed and his head resting on Lucy's thigh. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but he'd slept through worse. It was after midnight so his body was pushing him to rest. He was willing to do it since he didn't expect Lucy to wake up until morning, being accustomed to sleeping this time of night. Plus, the blood loss would keep her weak and in need of rest.

The feeling of fingers gently carding through his hair woke him a few hours later. He recognized Lucy's touch without opening his eyes or using his magic. She seemed to know he was awake but didn't say anything, just enjoyed touching him.

He could hear her going over the events of the night before as she sorted through fuzzy memories. The burnt privacy curtain was a clear sign that Natsu had been in the room at some point but she didn't feel like asking for the details yet. He obliged her need for silence, also not in the mood to speak.

They stayed that way until Lucy's bladder couldn't be ignored any longer. Cobra didn't wait for her to ask. He just stood up and walked around to her other side to remove the IV needle. Lucy assumed he'd done this before when he proficiently removed the needle and replaced it with gauze, then secured the gauze with tape.

When he helped her to her feet, she leaned against him for a moment, taking in the feel of his body against hers, warm and alive. They were both alive and together. He leaned his head against hers, whispering in her ear, "I'm so sorry. I'm not leaving again."

His words seemed to break the dam she'd kept in place. She wrapped her arms around his waist as her body shuddered with tears slipped down her cheeks. She didn't try to explain, knowing he could hear and feel the turmoil in her soul. She'd been so afraid, having never been so close to death before. Terror unlike anything she'd ever felt had consumed her when she felt the end nearing. Through all of it, he was there with her, a constant presence in the darkness engulfing her. He kept her steady, acting as a beacon to guide her back.

Cobra just held Lucy tightly, running a hand up and down her back to soothe her. Guilt ate away at him for allowing this to happen to her. He blamed himself, even knowing it was truly his fault. But if he'd been there, if he'd been next to her, he could have helped fight the mage off. After engaging him once, Cobra knew the guy's fighting style and was confident he could defeat him in hand to hand combat.

"This isn't your fault." Lucy whispered against his chest, having picked up on the direction of his thoughts. He didn't acknowledge her words, just pulled away enough to guide her toward the small restroom in the infirmary.

Lucy stood in front of the small mirror after taking care of her needs and leaving the bloodied gauze in the trash. Her face looked perfect with no signs left behind of the beating she'd endured. She was proud to know she'd held her own against him, but it hadn't been easy. The guy was big, tall with muscle on his frame. Her freedom had come at a price, one she paid at the end of his fists and the pointy side of a knife. She hadn't taken a beating like that since being abducted by Phantom Lord and left in Gajeel's not-so-sane care.

She lifted her shirt, running a finger along the scar on her stomach. The blood had mostly been cleaned from this area but there was enough left behind to clearly see it had covered her torso. It must have been a horrific sight.

When she walked out the door, Cobra was standing on the other side leaning against the wall. She asked playfully, "You peeping on me?"

He curled his lip in disgust as he answered, "Hell no. If I was going to try to catch a glimpse of you naked, it wouldn't be while you took a piss."

Soft laughter escaped her, the light feeling alleviating some of the lingering anxiety. She took his hand in hers, glad he didn't pull away. She needed the contact right now to remind her she was ok.

The light outside the infirmary windows was faint, meaning dawn was approaching. Lucy wanted to be home before anyone came into the guild.

Cobra turned his back to Lucy and knelt down. "Climb on. It won't take long if I carry you."

Lucy didn't object to the offer, glad she didn't have to walk the distance. It wasn't very far, but she wasn't sure she would make it all the way there in her weakened state. Once she was secured and they were on their way out of the infirmary, she said, "We need to stop ending up in here."

"No shit." He said as he descended the stairs. "I hope this isn't going to be an ongoing trend for us."

Lucy liked the way that 'us' sounded coming from him. The bond between them had remained open since she woke, so she knew the hesitancy he had harbored towards her was gone.

As they exited the building he added, "I know you want to spend time with me but that is not the place to do it."

She smiled as she said, "I seem to remember you being the one in the infirmary bed last time."

"Don't know what you're talking about." He denied jokingly. "The blood loss must be affecting your memory."

Her soft laughter warmed him inside, easing his tension. She was ok and he was never walking away from her again.

Once they made it inside her apartment, Cobra left Lucy seated on the couch with instructions not to move until he got back. She wasn't planning to go against his orders since she was fairly certain she would collapse if she tried to stand. Holding onto his back while he carried her home took enough energy that she was sure she wouldn't have made it without his help.

She lay down on her side, pulling the throw blanket over her body to stay warm. The disgusting smell of her hair was stronger with it smashed against her face. It wasn't just the usual day old oil from her scalp, but grit and blood caked together in the strands. Her entire body needed a serious scrub down with all the bloody residue left behind. Wendy and Virgo had done a great job of cleaning her up, but a wipe down with a wet cloth just wasn't enough. A shower and long soak in the bath sounded fantastic, but that wouldn't work out too well if she passed out and then drowned.

A short time later, Cobra returned with toast and orange juice. Lucy sat up, letting the blanket fall to her lap as she accepted the plate and immediately leaning against his side for support after he sat down. As she nibbled on the toasted bread, he sniffed dramatically and said, "You really do smell like shit."

Lucy huffed before saying sarcastically, "You're so sweet. It just takes my breath away."

"I do my best." He picked up the glass of juice and put it in her hand, forcing her to drink it. She glared at him over the rim as she swallowed it down. He offered, "I can help you shower."

She placed the empty glass back on the low table while trying to hide her smile as she said, "Your selflessness amazes me. Will you even help me wash my body?"

"I think I can handle that."

"I'm sure you can handle it." She answered flirtatiously. "But seriously, I don't think I can do much more than sit there."

"Don't worry about it. You can rock my world later." They both smiled at that, fully intending on making it happen.

While the shower warmed, Cobra helped Lucy undress. She didn't need a lot of help removing the clothing but nearly fell over while pulling the shirt over her head and then again while taking off her shorts. In contrast with his flirting moments earlier, he was completely respectful of her nudity, not taking advantage of the situation. But if he got in an eye full or two, who could blame him?

She lowered herself into the tub on her own as Cobra knelt on the outside. He unhooked the showerhead from the wall, glad she had one with a long hose, and used it to wet her hair. The water was dark as it rinsed away the dried blood and other things caught in her hair. He was glad she had asked him to wash her hair before filling up the bathtub or she would have been stuck marinating in the nasty shit.

Lucy hugged her legs and turned her head to the side to rest her face against her knees. It had been a long time since someone washed her hair. The last one to do it was Aquarius back when she was a small child. The reminder of the spirit that was a mother to her in many ways left a pang of sorrow in Lucy's chest. She was determined to find her lost friend one day.

Cobra listened in on Lucy's soul, mostly out of habit, though it wasn't as if she were trying to shield herself from him. The depth of their connection made it almost as if they were having a conversation about the mermaid. Maybe one day he could help her find the key when it resurfaced.

He let the peace of the moment seep into his soul, soothing him as he massaged the shampoo into her scalp and then rinsed the suds away. The mildly sweet scent of her body wash filled the air as he squeezed some onto her loofah and handed it to her. He would definitely help her wash her body if she asked but didn't think that would be the best idea. He was managing to control his desire for her naked, wet body but rubbing soap all over it without a reaction might be a little too much to ask.

She plugged the drain and turned the faucet on high to fill the tub with water. While doing so, she reminded him conditioner was important through her thoughts, so he worked the moisturizing stuff into her hair, remembering the time she'd told him she planned to put some in his hair one day.

"I can do it right now, if you want." She offered with a look over her shoulder. "You aren't smelling so great, either."

He only raised an eyebrow in challenge, and then proceeded to undress when she smiled at him in answer. It didn't take long for him to climb into the bath with her, surprised they both fit.

Lucy twirled a finger as she said, "Turn around. I can't wash your hair with you facing me."

He sighed, feigning exasperation but actually enjoying the interaction. Lucy reached across him, intentionally pressing her bare breasts into his back as she switched the water flow back to the showerhead. She settled onto her knees and began the process of washing his hair.

The small amount of food and glass of juice had her feeling much better than before. She wouldn't say she had energy to go exercise, but she had enough for this. Her fingers worked through his thick hair, lingering in places to massage his scalp. She could feel him practically melting beneath her fingertips and smiled at the change in his demeanor. Just 24 hours earlier he'd been trying to escape from her and now they were sharing a bath.

"Fucking crazy, I know." He mumbled in a relaxed sounding voice. Bath time with Lucy was fantastic. He would take her up on the offer any time.

When she finished rinsing the conditioner from his hair, she rinsed her own and then stretched upward to hang the showerhead back in its place. While she was reaching up, Cobra turned his body around to face the other way with his legs stretched on either side of the bath and then pulled Lucy down to sit between his legs with her back resting against his chest. She didn't object to the change in position, allowing him to adjust both of them until they were comfortable.

She let out a sound full of blissful relaxation as she leaned her head back against his shoulder. Her arms rested lightly in her lap with his wrapped around her, holding her tightly against him. He nuzzled the side of her face with his, silently enjoying the moment.

After awhile, he spoke his thoughts aloud, "I don't think I've ever been completely naked with a woman before."

"Really?" She asked in surprise without opening her eyes.

He hummed and then went on, "Never stayed around one long enough to get comfortable, I guess."

Lucy smiled and said, "Well, I fully intend to see your perfect butt naked as often as possible." When he laughed, she added, "I might even try to take a bite out of it."

His chuckle grew until she could feel his chest moving behind her back. He had a nice laugh, one she didn't hear often without a hint of teasing or malice mixed in. Once his laughter subsided, he said, "I don't know why the hell you want me, but you're stuck with me now."

"Good, you'll see eventually." She said, hoping one day she could show him what she saw in him. Her inebriated description of him as sweet on the inside but pokey on the outside might've sounded ridiculous but it was accurate, even if he couldn't see it himself.

His hold on her loosened as his hands started exploring. Gentle fingertips touched lightly along her arm, down to her hand until they brushed along her outer thigh. She didn't protest when his other hand, still crossed over her stomach, started gliding up and down her side with his thumb brushing just beneath her breast. Her breath hitched when the hand on her thigh crept inwards while the other traced along the underside of her breast, rising up to cup the mound fully.

Cobra's voice was husky as he said, "We should probably get out of here if you still don't feel well."

Voice breathy, she said, "I'm good. We can stay." To bring her point home, she spread her thighs slightly while pressing back against the firmness growing behind her.

A sharp intake of air was Cobra's only response as he slid his fingers up her thigh until they reached her core while he rocked his hips against her back. Her soul was still open to him, increasing the pleasure he felt into something he'd never experienced before. He wasn't even inside her yet but he could feel her wrapped around him, her soul surrounding his as their bond buzzed with life.

His fingers worked her until she was moaning, nearing an orgasm from his touch alone. He kissed along her neck, sucking the smooth skin roughly, pushing her over the edge. When she came, her soul sang with a melody that enchanted his soul, pulling him to new heights with her. He lifted her hips, turning her around to face him and sunk his length into her. Lucy threw her head back at the sudden intrusion, the pain and pleasure combining into something fantastic, stealing her breath away.

The feel of her warm, wet heat surrounding his length was almost too much to take after going for so long without release while the sexual tension built between them. He held them both still for a moment, giving them a second to adjust before he moved.

Thrusting deeply into her, he captured one of her bouncing breasts in his mouth, using his hands to help her move up and down on his cock. He could feel her fatigue returning rapidly and knew this would have to end quickly but he was going to fucking enjoy it.

Water sloshed over the side of the tub, going unnoticed as it pooled on the floor. Lucy placed her hands on either side of Cobra's face, pressing their lips together in a wild kiss full of tongue and teeth. Now that he'd finally accepted their bond, she wasn't letting him go again.

Her thoughts and overwhelming affection pushed Cobra over the edge. He pumped into her roughly as he came with an intensity he'd never felt, pulling Lucy into a second orgasm with him. Their souls merged together until they harmonized into something new and different, the sound rang like the echo of a church bell in Cobra's ears. Even Lucy could hear it through their connection. A bright light burst from the joined pair, swirling around them in a sparkling pattern resembling Lucy's magic.

The lovers panted in silence, floating on the high of ecstasy. Lucy kissed Cobra's lips again, though gently this time, with her hands still cupping his face in a loving embrace. His hands slid up from her hips to wrap around her, holding her against him as he returned the kiss.

When their lips parted, he whispered, "We made a really big fucking mess."

Lucy laughed as she looked to the side, wondering if there was more water outside or inside the bathtub. She shrugged while saying, "Eh, that's what towels are for."

They stood and let the rest of the cooling water drain as they tossed towels onto the floor, then stepped over the side. With only one towel left, Cobra toweled off the water on Lucy's body and then dried his own, not worried about either of their hair. It was halfway dry having been above the water so long.

Lucy wrapped her hand in his as they walked the short distance from the bathroom to her bed, not wanting to be parted physically for even a moment. They slid under the blanket without bothering to dress and curled up together. It hadn't been long since they'd woken up in the infirmary, but both were exhausted after the long night and amazing sex. Lucy pressed her lips against his chest where her face lay against it. He returned the gesture, kissing the top of her head, glad she could feel what he did so he didn't have to try figuring out the best way to tell her how much she meant to him.

XXXXXXXX

**I hope this made up for the cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter. Call me evil, but I cackled out loud each time someone told me how terrible it was of me to cut off the chapter with a cliff hanger.**

**I'd also like to acknowledge the lack of editing in the last few chapters. I'm aware there are likely grammatical errors I overlooked throughout the story and I **_**may**_** correct them at some point, but no guarantees. I read over each before posting, but am less focused on editing as I am on packing the chapter with content. So, sorry to anyone who cares but at the same time STFU and just be glad the chapter got posted.**

**And leave a review! Or message me! I want to hear what you guys think. It's the fuel for my writer's soul.**


	8. Chapter 8

Movement on the mattress pulled Lucy fully into awareness. Instead of leaving the comfort of the bed, the recovering woman pulled the blanket up higher until it reached her chin and buried her head between the pillows, leaving her face exposed only enough for breathing. She'd been trying to hang onto the remnants of sleep for the last few minutes, hoping to avoid dealing with the throbbing ache in her skull. Her body was screaming at her to drink some water but she didn't want to move. Her mouth tasted like she'd been licking chalk and the rest of her felt like a dried up sponge.

Sounds of someone rummaging around in her bathroom left her hoping Cobra was in there looking for pain medication. He'd be her hero if he returned with some pills and a glass of water. Footsteps sounded just before he said, "I guess you should start thanking me, then."

Lucy moved her head back and forth until the pillow slipped off enough to expose one eye. She saw his outstretched hands with water and three little, brown pain reducing tablets. She rolled over and scooted until her back was mostly propped up. Taking the offered goods, she said, "You're definitely my hero."

With a shrug, he answered, "I do what I can."

He slid back under the covers and put the now empty glass onto the side table when Lucy was finished, then laid flat on his back. She didn't speak anymore, not even through her thoughts, only slid back down until she was lying on her side. Without as much as a please, she shoved pulled one of his arms away from his body so she could take its place at his side. With one arm and leg tossed over Cobra's body, Lucy squeezed herself closer, almost as if she were trying to meld her body with his. And then she was asleep. Immediately. Obviously, feeling unwell made her more affectionate than usual, something Cobra was surprised was even possible.

Since they were both still naked, this started a growing problem for him. The sexually deprived dragon slayer had gotten a taste of sex with the woman he'd wanted so badly for so long, and now he couldn't stop thinking about it. The thigh of the leg she'd thrown over him was so close to touching his dick that he could almost feel the heat radiating off her skin. Full breasts he barely had a chance to explore last night were pressed against his side, so temptingly off limits while she was in this state. How long could she possibly need to sleep? This was pure torture.

Her soul was completely at peace now that the medicine had taken effect, numbing her to the pain of her dehydration induced headache. He'd been expecting her to wake up in that state and knew it would be a few more hours until she felt better, having been through this before with his guildmates when they'd been severely injured. Though, none of them ever used him the way a child uses their favorite blankie - a living, breathing blankie with a raging hard on.

He closed his eyes, trying to will himself back to sleep. It was a failure. Epically so when Lucy shifted slightly, rubbing the same teasing thigh against his erection and grinding her core against his leg. Cleary, she was feeling some of his arousal through their bond and responding to it while unconscious.

Enough was enough. He extracted him from her unbelievably strong hold and went into the kitchen. Maybe finding something to eat would distract him from his other pressing needs.

XXX

Lucy patted her bloated stomach with a contented sigh, leaning against Cobra's side with her head on his shoulder. Still naked, the two sat together in the bed with their backs against the headboard. It was becoming clear to Cobra that being unclothed was one of the Lucy's favorites ways to be.

When she'd awoken the second time, morning had gone by hours earlier and it was now past lunch. Her house guest had very graciously cooked her a meal and delivered it to her in bed, though he made sure to let her know he wasn't being gracious, just pragmatic. If she woke up hungry knowing he'd cooked for himself without saving any for her, she'd bitch at him for hours. So, he was really only doing it as an act of self-preservation.

The starving blonde had waved away his lies with a dismissive gesture as she shoveled food into her mouth at an alarming pace. It was clear to the dragon slayer that she'd picked up some of her teammates' habits. After consuming a very unhealthy amount of pasta, the blonde was finally feeling satisfied. Now she felt nearly back to full health, as if she hadn't almost died the day before. She patted her belly again saying, "Once I get rid of this food baby, I'll feel human again."

Her words created images in Cobra's mind that he wasn't prepared for. Lucy carrying his child in her womb, cradling the baby as she cooed down at his or her plump face. A surge of panic threatened to shut down his mind when Lucy answered his silent thoughts. He had to stop forgetting she could do that. "Maybe one day, but not for a long time. I've got a lot of life to live before having babies."

He stared down at her as best he could with her head so close to his. She was ok with having his kids, not even bothered in the slightest by the idea? What the hell was wrong with this woman? He'd barely gotten his head around the idea of them being a permanent thing, and now he had to consider the possibility of a family in the future. Now that the seed of the idea had been planted, he couldn't say he absolutely hated it, but it was something he hadn't ever considered. It shocked him to know she thought of him as a potential father figure when he had serious doubts about the wellbeing of any tiny human in his care. He knew he wouldn't hurt a child, that type of ruthlessness was one he abhorred, but children were so impressionable. Cobra knew he was not role model material. He was a known killer, started on this path by a life of slavery and then cemented in it by the debauchery encouraged by Brain. The very brief time he'd spent fighting for the good side had still been filled with killing and other unsavory deeds, but now it was in the name of the Magic Council. Sort of. The mages of Crime Sorciere were the council's investigation and cleanup crew when they wanted things done off the record. And this insane woman wanted to have a family with one of them?

Lucy shifted from leaning her head on Cobra's shoulder to look up into his face. She could clearly tell something was bothering him based on the turmoil of his emotions, but his thoughts were moving way too fast for her to understand anything. Her brows pinched together as she asked, "What's wrong?"

He stared into her big, brown eyes, so full of concern for him. If he hadn't already accepted their connection and strengthened it by having sex with her, he might've bolted out the door. There was so much love in her, ready to spill over into him if he would only let it. It was terrifying. _She _terrified him. But he wasn't leaving again. He'd already made up his mind.

Instead of answering her, he shook his head and pressed his lips to hers, tasting the meal he'd cooked and everything that made Lucy _Lucy_. She was like a fresh morning dew on the barren wasteland of his soul, healing his brokenness with her soul's gentle caress. Her essence filtered into him through their connection, soothing his worries and fears with the balm of her freely given passion. He would take Midnight's advice and let her show him how to do this. If anyone could teach such a damaged soul how to be whole again, it would be her.

Now that his mind had slowed, Lucy could tell what he was thinking. She wanted to show him exactly how she felt about him, to make him understand why he was worth any difficulties they'd face to be together. She wanted to erase the doubts from his mind. With that plan in mind, she took control of the kiss and moved to straddle his waist. Her body pressed into his, leaving no separation between their skin. His already firm length pressed against her core and she ground against it, teasing a groan from him. Her lips left his as she kissed along his jawline until she reached his ear, pulling the lobe into her mouth. A gasp came from him when she flicked her tongue, teasing the soft skin and then licked along the shell of his ear. She couldn't help but smile at the way he shuddered beneath her.

Lucy worked her way down his body, swirling her tongue over each of his nipples, making him inhale sharply. _Like that?_ She watched his face as she sucked the sensitive nub into her mouth, flicking her tongue across it. He didn't answer her question, but his reaction was enough to tell her how much he loved it. While she kissed across his chest and back up to suck on the smooth skin of his neck, one of her hands slipped down his stomach to palm his erection, stroking it firmly a few times before moving down to knead his sac.

Cobra could hardly stand it. Her soft hands worked him into a frenzy as she kissed down his body until her lips met the head of his shaft. With her soul singing its love for him, he couldn't pull his mind away from her, couldn't stop himself from tumbling into the depths of her soul. Its melody pulsed in time with the bobbing of her head, turning his sexual pleasure into something almost divine. His thoughts were overwhelmed by everything about Lucy until he could feel nothing but her touch, both physical and spiritual.

She sucked and licked him, running her hands over his body until she started using them to help work him to the edge. When she felt the first signs of his orgasm coming, she stopped working his shaft and licked it one last time as she sat up.

His head snapped up to look at her as he muttered, "Fuck, are you trying to kill me?"

A devilish smile curved her lips as she moved to hover over him, kissing his lips one more time before pulling back to say, "You can cum in my mouth later. I need to feel you inside me first."

Cobra groaned and let his head fall back, loving the dirty talk. This was the freaky side of Lucy he'd sensed when she nearly rode him on her living room floor. He'd been hoping to see this soon and he was getting his wish.

She held the base of his cock still as she sunk onto it in one slow, torturous movement. He grabbed her hips, pushing up into her to reach a little more deeply, pulling a moan from Lucy. When he rocked his hips, she could feel him stretching her, reaching places that made her freeze from the shock of pleasure for a few seconds. She started to move, her breasts bouncing up and down as she rode him. Cobra leaned forward to suck one into his mouth while his hands were busy kneading the other breast and squeezing her ass. With both hands full of ass and titty, he didn't know which one he loved more.

"Good thing you don't have to choose." She answered his thought in a breathy voice. As her climax neared, she pulled his face up to hers, kissing him with the passion she'd only ever felt for him. She wanted to share it all with him, wanted to pour all of it into him until he believed her when she said she wanted him and would never leave. She wanted to erase the pain she knew still lingered in his soul, to smooth the edges of his past.

Her movements became frantic as she ground her hips against his, rubbing her clit against his pelvis as his shaft rocked deep inside her. It wasn't long until she threw her had back, moaning loudly as her inner muscles clamped down on him. The rhythmic clenching of her wet heat pulled Cobra over the edge with her into ecstasy as he spilled inside of her.

Lucy collapsed against his chest as he shifted to slide down until he was lying on his back. She didn't bother moving, just stayed draped over his body with his softening member inside of her. She turned her head far enough to place a kiss on his chest and whispered, "I love you, Erik."

Her words and the vibrant hum of emotion in their connection left no room for doubts. What he was feeling was foreign to him, but he thought maybe he was starting to understand it. His arms circled her and he kissed the top of her head before saying, "I think – I think I love you, too."

XXX

The couple sat at a table in the guildhall later the same evening. Cobra hadn't felt like leaving Lucy's apartment but she wanted a smoothie, so off they went. She sat on the bench across the table from Meredy, Midnight and Sorano, facing the trio as they all talked quietly. Cobra straddled the bench he shared with Lucy, nearly engulfing her with his body. He had one leg directly behind her and the other outstretched beneath her bent knees. His face was pressed into the side of her neck with his arms circling her waist. She felt him flinch occasionally, but had no idea why. _You ok?_

"Yeah," he grumbled straight into her ear, "it's just loud in here." Lucy looked around at the unusually quiet guildhall in confusion, until she realized he didn't mean it in the way she first assumed.

_You want to leave? We don't have to stay._ He shook his head slightly in response, and she picked up from his thoughts that he was giving her time to finish her smoothie first.

Sorano's voice drew Lucy's attention back to the mages at the other side of the table. "Well, clearly you two did the dirty deed." Lucy only smiled brightly, unable to hide her happiness over that fact.

Meredy's eyes turned into hearts and she cooed softly as Sorano went on, "Now you'll never get rid of him. Cobra can be a possessive little lizard."

"Works for me. I wasn't planning on going anywhere." Lucy's words drew a loud squeal from Meredy, making everyone at the table jump at the high-pitched sound. The pink haired woman collapsed against Midnight, draping herself across the slumped over man. He didn't bother pushing her off, just shifted his shoulders until she slid into a position more comfortable for both of them.

Both Lucy and Sorano shook their heads at the scene. When Lucy took another sip of her smoothie, Sorano took the opportunity to say, "With the way you're glowing today, I think it's safe to assume Cobra's got a golden dick."

The mouthful of smoothie went down the wrong way and then up into her nose, choking Lucy as she was caught between laughing and swallowing. Cobra chuckled against her neck as she struggled to breath and Sorano smiled in satisfaction. When she could finally breathe again, Lucy said, "I wouldn't say it's golden. More like a nice shade of bronze like the rest of him."

The other woman cackled loudly, throwing her head back and slapping the table before saying through her chuckles, "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Hearing the confusion in Lucy's soul, Cobra said, "Yeah, she definitely likes you. You're on her list."

"List?" Lucy repeated, now more confused. She had no idea the woman liked her at all, much less enough to put her on a list.

Sorano smiled wickedly, knowing this would be fun. "My list of future conquests."

Lucy's eyes widened in surprise and she had a fleeting thought that she was glad she hadn't taken another sip or she'd be choking again. When she finally processed that information, she asked, "So, how long is this list?" Now her curiosity had her wondering if she'd made an exclusive club of some kind.

Cobra answered her questions, both spoken and unspoken. "Only five people. She'll still fuck anything that moves," Sorano nodded emphatically in agreement, "but rarely anyone makes the list."

Now intrigued, Lucy asked, "So, who else is on it?"

Still speaking for Sorano, Cobra said, "Jellal," Sorano nodded, "Doranbolt, or Mest, whatever he calls himself now," Sorano continued her nodding, but also started chewing on her lip with a glassy look to her eyes.

Lucy tilted her head as she considered the man. "You know, I can see that." Cobra's hold on her tightened, leading Lucy to say, "Being with you doesn't mean I'll never see another attractive man." _Don't worry, my prickly pear, you're the only one for me._

Somewhat mollified, Cobra continued, "Hibiki" to which Sorano whispered to herself, "Oh yes…"

"How have you not managed to catch a ride on that man whore?" Lucy asked, having been victim to the man's uninvited attention too many times in the past.

Sorano shrugged, saying, "He's a bit of a prude when it comes to women with a criminal history."

Cobra finished the list, "And the Twin Dragon Slayers, but only as a set so the two of them count for one spot."

By this point, Sorano eyes had fully glazed over, her expression giving Lucy the impression the woman was nearing orgasm just from her imagination. Cobra muttered, "She is. This is normal. Just ignore it and pretend like it's not happening right in front of you. Ignorance is the only way to survive with them."

Lucy snorted in quiet amusement, doing her best to turn her focus elsewhere. Cobra had obviously done the same thing with the way his thumb started stroking back and forth over the raised skin of her newest scar. Unable to pick up more than just a stray thought, it took some time for Lucy to realize he was fantasizing about revenge in a very detailed way. He was planning ways to kill Ken, but not immediately. If Cobra had his way, Ken's death would be very slow and painful, with the promise of death becoming a hope Cobra could use to torment the man further.

She knew his morals were in a different universe than her own, but this was something else entirely. It moved past revenge and right into psychopathic territory. The blonde moved one of her hands down to rest over Cobra's. _Don't walk further into the darkness to get revenge on a man that isn't deserving of so much attention._

He hummed lowly in his throat and pressed his forehead against her temple as he thought, _Don't worry about it._ Trying to distract himself, he ran his nose along her neck, drawing her scent in deeply. She still smelled like him, even after having a shower. The shower didn't do much to eliminate his scent, however, since he was in it with her. They'd crossed the line into fucking maybe twenty-four hours earlier and he was already obsessed with her perfect pussy.

_You keep thinking like that and we'll have to leave now, smoothie be damned._

His response was cut off by the arrival of another mage. Bickslow plopped down onto the bench on Lucy's other side and said, "There's my favorite Lucy Goosey."

The two shared a laugh at the stupid nickname. Cobra caught a flash of memory that had him growling and pulling Lucy nearly on top of him. She yelped in surprise at the sudden shift, realizing a few seconds later what he'd probably picked up from both her and Bickslow's souls. The two friends had shared a drunken night of sexy, acrobatic fun that led to Bickslow calling her Lucy Goosey. It was a one-time thing, but the nickname stuck, even if it didn't make sense.

She was fairly certain Bickslow had been trying to irritate Cobra. The man seemed to love flirting with danger, and there weren't many things more dangerous than an enraged dragon slayer. Lucy relaxed into her lover's hold, no longer trying to push away from him. Leaning further into his chest, she slid her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead to his. _You know I was no blushing virgin before you. You can't go getting all dragony on every guy I've been with._

He growled lowly, still not ready to relent, so she added, _It doesn't matter that you weren't my first, just that you'll be my last._

The tight grip he had on her relaxed slightly, but he still didn't respond. She smiled a little as she added, _Besides, if it weren't for that night, I would've never learned it was possible to be in the position you had me in in the shower_.

The vivid images Lucy's memory conjured up from earlier that day helped ease the possessive jealousy constricting Cobra's chest. Echoes of the passion she'd felt during the moment she was remembering passed to him through both their soul bond and his magic. His hands started traveling along her sides, down to her hips as he finally answered. _Well, maybe I owe him a thanks._

Completely unaware of the show they were putting on, the couple continued their mental communication, obviously beginning to really enjoy themselves. Bickslow's eyes were glowing green as he watched the way their souls interacted with each other. He'd been watching them on and off all evening, and getting a closer look had been his true motivation for coming over to the table. This was better than he could've hoped for. Oblivious to their surroundings, the two souls danced around and within each other, merging into something new and then separating again, but slightly changed every time. The brokenness Bickslow had always seen in Cobra was healing before his very eyes.

Sorano's voice drew his attention, "They're totally mind fucking right now, aren't they?"

"Definitely." He answered without look away, then adding distractedly, "This is fucking hot."

His eyes stopped glowing as he deactivated his magic before looking at the woman across the table. "So, you got any plans for the night?"

She stood to her feet without hesitation. "I do now."

When the two were out of earshot, Cobra said, "They're gone now."

Lucy didn't shift out of her position nearly straddling his lap. "It's about time. I'm ready to leave, too."

Cobra stood up, picking Lucy up with him and then setting her on her feet. The two stayed joined at the hands as they walked outside.

Midnight waited until the doors had fully closed behind them before saying, "You good now?"

Meredy sat upright, though still looked slightly dazed. "That was just beautiful."

Midnight turned his head to rest on the side facing her, watching the way she swooned. "They're so in love." Meredy's hands were clasped in front of her as she enjoyed the excess emotions still hanging in the air. Midnight just nodded and closed his eyes again, glad to know his friend was finally giving in.

XXX

Ken watched the couple return to the woman's apartment. It was clear to him that the man he'd hit with the death spell was only alive because of the potency of the woman's light. There was no other explanation. Her magic was unlike any he'd come across so far, rivaled only by the light spells used by the mage he'd failed to capture. Ken was determined to correct that mistake.

If he could capture the Celestial Mage and the guild leader with the heavenly magic, he wouldn't need to maintain the cache of prisoners he currently held. Things would be so much easier with only two mages to contain. Though, it would be difficult to get both of them with so many powerhouses nearby.

The Stone of Light was slowly replenishing in the short time Ken had been watching the Fairy Tail guildhall. Enough residual magic was in the air from the light wielding mages, especially the output from the Lightening Dragon Slayer each time he teleported, that Ken could simply stand around outside the building to recharge. But it wasn't enough, not if he wanted to be at full power anytime soon. He needed to abduct either the blonde woman or the blue haired guy to move forward with implanting the stone. Once he had it implanted, he could easily overpower any of the mages the guild could throw at him, and then escape with both his captives.

Until then, Ken would watch and wait for the perfect opportunity. He wouldn't mess up again.


	9. Chapter 9

"You sure about this?" Cobra asked loudly from his place across the open field. He eyed Lucy in her skimpy clothes. She definitely wouldn't have any trouble moving in the tiny spandex shorts and athletic bra.

Lucy smiled at him deviously. She nearly glowed with excitement over sparring and the leftover high from their earlier activities. The combination threatened to take his breath away. Her smile turned predatory as she picked up on his distraction through their bond. "Are _you_ sure about this? I'm totally going to kick your ass in front of both our guilds."

He chuckled with a grin that showed his sharp canines. He was looking forward to this, but the idea of sparring hadn't appealed to him at first. He had balked at the challenge, annoyed that she'd even suggest it, but he'd given in after she very effectively persuaded him. At least he would get a chance to see how she fought, never having seen it firsthand.

She'd been pissed when he firmly shot down her attempts to join the team forming to track down the dark mage, going so far as to insist she could prove her strength by defeating him in a fight. After two days of unproductive planning, the joint efforts of Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere had failed to come up with a Lucy-free plan to find a dark mage no one could locate and powerful enough to take down even the strongest of them. The only viable option they had was to use Lucy to feel out the Stone of Light, but Cobra nearly became violent every time it was suggested. After seeing the damage inflicted on her after one encounter with the dark mage, he didn't want Lucy anywhere near the action.

The disagreement finally came to a head earlier that day, leading to their first argument and then their first round of vigorous make up sex. Cobra had already decided to start arguments with Lucy more often.

Cobra didn't bother quieting his voice as he said, "Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you've got the best tits in Fiore."

Catcalls and laughter could be heard from the crowd lined up just outside the guildhall's back door. News of the couple's spar had spread, turning it into an all-out event complete with booze and betting. Mira and Kinana worked the crowd, serving drinks and collecting money as the group chattered in excitement. Fairy Tail was always down to watch a good fight.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I don't need you to cut me any slack." With that, Lucy decided to stop playing around. It was time to dish out the ass whooping her prickly pear was due. She'd had enough of his over protective, dragon slayer bullshit. Loving him didn't mean she'd tolerate him treating her like a breakable doll.

Natsu's voice spurred Lucy on as he shouted, "Kick his ass, Luce!"

She smiled, already running toward Cobra when a flash of light had her outfit replaced with Capricorn's Star Dress. Her movements were suddenly quicker and crisper, taking Cobra off guard since he'd never witnessed this transformation. The distraction nearly earned him a fist to the stomach, but he dodged just in time. Even Lucy's way of thinking had been slightly altered by the change, becoming more focused and combat oriented. The abrupt change in her thought pattern made her harder to read, leaving Cobra open to a round house kick perfectly on course to connect with his temple. Only his reflexes saved him from an instant knockout, though the foot still landed with an audible whack that could be heard by the onlookers.

Cobra stumbled to the side, evading another kick, this one aimed at his chest. The move gave him an amazing view of the tiny panties beneath the purple dress, which didn't go unnoticed by the blonde. Lucy's voice was irritated as she swung a vicious hook at the side of his head, barely missing when he ducked. "You should focus or I'll end this before it's even started."

Unable to resist antagonizing her, Cobra stepped into the next punch, taking the surprisingly painful blow to his stomach. He grabbed her face, pulling it forward to place a rough kiss on her lips. She didn't appreciate the move and bit him hard enough to draw blood before jerking away. The glimpse of Scary Lucy made him smile with a dark glee that lit up his entire face. He loved it when she showed her feisty side. He licked the blood from his lip, drawing her focus down to his mouth for a moment too long, giving him an opening to return her punch. When the air left her lungs in a whoosh, he said, "Now who's distracted. Time to get serious, love."

Lucy jumped back to put distance between them, glad to see he was finally ready to fight her. She wordlessly summoned Scorpio, who appeared between the couple and blasted a torrent of sand at Cobra, making him change course as the spirit returned to the Celestial Realm. Another flash of light had Lucy switching into Leo's Star Dress as Virgo appeared at her side. "You know what to do." Lucy said to her spirit as she sent a blast of light at Cobra to keep him at a distance. She knew she couldn't defeat him at hand to hand combat now that he was serious.

"Glad to see you recognize your weakness." Cobra taunted, making Lucy narrow her eyes at him with a look that had a thrill running through his body. Sparring against his woman was turning out to be insanely erotic.

Again distracted by his dick, Cobra failed to notice the pain loving maid pop up from the ground behind him. With an unexpected quickness, Virgo wrapped her arms around the dragon slayer and pulled him underground. The tunnel collapsed around the man as the spirit disappeared back into the Celestial Realm, trapping him in dirt up to his neck.

He hadn't wanted to resort to using his poison, but didn't see another way to buy himself the time needed to get free. Expecting the attack, Lucy dropped to the ground as the stream of poison shot over her head, passing by exactly where her face had been only a moment earlier. A smile tugged at her lips as she said, "Almost got me. That would've hurt."

Cobra didn't answer as he used his enhanced dragon slayer's strength to pull his arms free and then shove his hands against the ground to pull his legs out. By the time he was upright, Lucy was on him again, swinging the same right hook from before, but this time connecting with the side of his head. The force of it surprised him, until he noticed the goat horns protruding from her head again. It was a hand to hand fight then, Lucy taking a chance to show off everything she'd learned from Capricorn while Cobra was still dazed from the hit to his head. They traded blows, dodging and blocking most while some connected. When it became obvious Cobra's head had cleared enough to become a problem, Lucy back pedaled suddenly while calling on Taurus.

The bull appeared in the spot Lucy had just vacated, putting him directly in front of Cobra. He lifted his giant axe and swung it with a loud moo. Cobra barely managed to move in time to avoid being flung across the field by the blow, but the blunt side of the axe still connected with his shoulder. The now dislocated arm hung uselessly at his side, pulling a grunt from him as he was forced to dodge another kick from Lucy. She was panting hard now, having exerted a lot of magic switching between star dresses and rapidly calling on spirits. Both of them were breathing heavily as she said, "You had enough yet or do you want more punishment?"

A pained laugh left Cobra as he cradled his dangling arm. "You've been spending too much time with the maid."

The couple stood facing off a few feet apart, neither admitting defeat but not moving again to attack. From the sidelines, Jellal shouted, "Cobra, I think it would best for you to stop now. I believe she's proved her point."

"Fuck off, blueberry. Nobody asked you." He shouted in response without looking over to the buzzing crowd.

Lucy relaxed her stance and released the star dress, knowing Cobra was done without him having to say so. The blonde walked the remaining distance between them and kissed his cheek, drawing a cheer from the onlookers. At the obvious sign of the spar being over, the cheering quickly morphed into an argument over who won. Ignoring them, Lucy nodded toward his shoulder and asked, "Need help with that?"

Cobra raised a brow but didn't turn down the offer after hearing her soul supply memories of her shoving dislocated limbs back into place many times in the past. Getting enough feedback from their connection to guess what he was thinking, Lucy said, "As often as Natsu and Gray fight each other, not to mention how wild they are on job requests, I've had to do this more than any person should."

The sharp crack of bone being jammed back into the socket made Lucy's stomach churn, but Cobra didn't so much as flinch. "I don't even want to know why you don't react to that much pain."

"Yeah, probably not." He agreed and did his best to spare her any memories that might reach her across their connection. There was no reason for her to witness some of the things he'd gone through in the past, especially since he was over all of it now.

Something drew Lucy's attention off to the opposite side of the training field. She didn't recognize the pull but it felt familiar. Catching onto her thoughts, Cobra asked, "What is it?"

"I don't know." Lucy's voice was distant as she focused on the feeling. She absently ran her hand across her key ring to make sure it was still hooked to her belt. The sensation was almost like one of her keys, but not exactly.

Cobra looked in the direction Lucy was staring, not seeing or hearing anything that could explain her sudden distraction. He could hear her thinking about the sensation drawing nearer, making dread pool in her stomach. Fear, surprise and understanding all flickered across her soul as she said in an urgent tone, "We need to move _now_."

Grabbing Cobra's hand, Lucy tugged on him to turn toward the crowd of Fairy Tail mages, many of whom were now watching them in confusion. Lucy shouted, "He's here!"

Cursing under his breath, Cobra sprinted next to Lucy, ignoring the dull aching of his shoulder as he pumped his arms to move faster. He had to get her back to the others. With one arm temporarily out of commission, he wasn't sure he could take down the dark mage without being seriously injured again.

He heard the moment Jellal and the other members of Crime Sorciere understood exactly who Lucy was referring to, prompting them to move into action. Sorano pulled out coins to summon her angels to fight while Midnight formed an illusion to give the running couple a chance to escape, but they were still so far from the group.

Now that he'd been outed, Ken dropped the invisibility he'd been sustaining throughout the unexpectedly useful sparring match. The Celestial Mage's heavy use of magic had left enough residual magic in the air to give the stone the boost it needed for him to move forward with his plans, plus the fight left her in a weakened state. If he could get to her now, she'd be easy to pick off. He wouldn't even need to fight off all the mages. He just had to get close enough to touch her and then vanish back into the light with his prize in tow.

The wall of nightmarish illusions in front of Ken only slowed him down for a moment. Swinging his staff, he broke through the wall with the power of the stone, watching in satisfaction as it shattered around him. He walked forward in measured, even steps until he reached a point where he could cast a spell effectively.

Freed broke from the crowd, running toward Lucy and Cobra with Laxus following closely behind him. He'd been studying the mystery of the stone since its existence had been uncovered, and he thought he had discovered a combination of runes to negate its magic. The rune mage pulled his saber free, writing the runes as he ran toward his friend and her lover. "Lucy! Cobra! Get down!"

The blonde dropped to the ground with Cobra dropping next to her. A wall of runes flew overhead, coming to a stop between them and the dark mage. The barrier came to life, planting itself deeply into the ground and arcing back toward the crowd.

Just as the barrier formed fully, a wave of dark energy collided with it making the runes flash brightly. Ken growled in frustration, hating that he had to use more of his own tainted magic to get past this obstacle. It irritated him to no end to use some of the stone's light to balance his death magic, but it couldn't be avoided. He tapped the staff on the ground three times, releasing another wave of dark energy. When it collided with the barrier, the runes flashed again but held firm.

Another growl escaped him as Ken repeated his actions, pouring more magic into the spell as it passed through the staff. This time, the wall collapsed but the spell still stopped. With the obstacle out of the way, Ken was unwilling to continue using the stone's limited resources to filter his own magic, deciding it would be worth the risk to fight instead. He ran forward, narrowing the distance between him and the two mages in the process of standing up from the ground.

Cobra looked back at the sound of running footsteps, seeing the dark mage nearly upon them. The guy was forced to duck when a ball of flame came shooting toward him, but he popped right back up and kept moving.

They were still too far from the others, and Lucy was starting to slow as her low magic reserves took a toll on her body. Cobra's magic warned him of a potentially stupid move, but before he could shout at Laxus to stop, the Lightning Dragon Slayer shot out a beam of lightning that veered away from Ken and went directly into the stone.

A large smile split Ken's face as he laughed before saying, "Why, thank you for that. It was just what I needed."

With the stone back to full charge, Ken used it to teleport the short distance between him and Lucy, wrapping his arm around the woman's small waist. She struggled in his tight hold, trying to kick or head butt him into letting her go, but it was no use. Not wanting a repeat of last time, Ken immediately pressed the stone to Lucy's chest, draining the last of her magic, causing her to collapse as she lost consciousness. Laughing again, Ken winked at Cobra, who was lunging toward them shouting, "No!" In a flash of light, the dark mage disappeared with Lucy.

Cobra stopped in his tracks, spinning around to look for any sign of them. He focused his Soul Listening magic, searching for Lucy but her soul was gone. The silence was deafening. In a momentary loss of control, he threw his head back and released an enraged roar, sending a powerful blast of poison into the air. Cobra didn't notice the runes flying overhead to contain the cloud before it could spread, he just dropped to his knees where he stood. Scales flew up his arms and claws formed on his hands as he beat against the ground, pummeling the dirt in his rage. How could he have let her slip away from him? She'd only been inches away from him and he'd lost her.

No one approached the dragon slayer on the ground, too afraid of finding their own death at his hands while he was out of his mind in anguish. A few of the mages ran inside to get the Master, hoping he could contain the enraged man.

Knowing the potential for disaster was high with a dragon slayer in this state, Mira stepped from the crowd in the form of her Satan Soul. She was completely unafraid of any danger he might pose as she walked toward him, hair floating above her head and tail whipping about as she exuded the power of the force contained within her body. Immune to Cobra's poison, Mira didn't hesitate to approach the distraught man, not bothering to coddle him like some might have. She gripped the front of his shirt, wrenching him upright and swatting his scaled fist away when he swung at her. Unperturbed by the crazed looked in his eyes, she asked, "Are you done putting the rest of the guild in danger?"

The growled words weren't what Cobra expected to hear, but that didn't stop him from growling back, "Get your fucking hands off me."

"Or what?" Mira asked, cocking her head to the side. She dipped a finger from her free hand into the poison dripping from his claws and licked it off before saying, "You are nothing. I could crush you if I chose to." Her bizarre actions confused Cobra enough that he didn't give a retort. In an unpitying voice full of satanic power, Mira continued, "You lost Lucy. Get the fuck over it and do something about it."

Effectively chastised, Cobra let go of the dragon force he'd unintentionally activated and pushed away from the demon woman while muttering, "Crazy fucking bitch. No wonder all those damned voices in your head sound so evil."

Suddenly back in her usual barmaid form, Mira smiled sweetly at him as she asked, "What was that?"

"I said you're a fucking crazy, demon infested bitch." He spat back at her as he turned to walk toward the others.

Still smiling brightly, Mira patted his back as she said, "That's what I thought you said." Her voice deepened slightly, reminiscent of the satanic voices he could hear echoing in her soul. "Say something like that to me again and I'll show you what this demon infested bitch can do."

"Whatever." He said, jerking away from her still patting hand. She was absolutely insane, more than he'd ever known.

Shouting drew his attention to where Natsu's flaming body was being restrained by Freed's runes as he tried to attack Laxus. "It _is_ your fault! I heard what he said! We could've stopped him if you hadn't shot that lightning!"

Natsu's words reminded Cobra of the last seconds leading up to Ken disappearing with Lucy, and then he was joining Natsu in going after Laxus. With no one restraining Cobra, he flew across the distance to punch Laxus in the jaw. "You stupid mother fucker! You were there when we talked about this! You knew your magic would make him stronger."

Laxus blocked as many of Cobra's blows as he could but he didn't fight back. Guilt ate away at him, knowing the other dragon slayers were right. "I didn't mean to do it! I was only thinking about stopping him. I forgot, ok?"

"No! It's not ok!" Cobra swiped a poisonous claw at Laxus' chest, barely missing as the Lightning Dragon Slayer leaned back to avoid the blow. A giant hand appeared out of nowhere, taking Cobra off guard since all his focus was on killing someone he could blame for Lucy's disappearance.

Master Makarov's oversized fists grabbed Cobra and Natsu, pinning both dragon slayers in an unforgiving grip. "What's going on out here?"

Neither of the trapped men answered, too busy trying to get free. Laxus explained to his grandfather, "The dark mage Crime Sorciere has been after appeared out of fucking nowhere and took off with Lucy."

Understanding filled Makarov, the brief details explaining why the two mages in his grip were trying so hard to fight. He directed his attention to them, saying, "You two settle down or I'll be forced to put you in magic cancelling cuffs."

"Go ahead, you old bastard. I don't need my fucking magic to kick that oversized power outlet's ass." Cobra's determination was shared by Natsu, who said, "Yeah! I don't either!"

"And what will Lucy think when she returns and finds out about the two of you trying to hurt her nakama?" The Master's words cut through the haze clouding both mage's judgement, making both of them calm noticeably, though Cobra was still loudly spewing colorful curses. The elderly man said, "I'm going to let you go now. Attempt to attack any members of either guild again and I'll knock you both out."

As soon as Cobra was free of the giant hand, he stormed off to get away from the guild. There were too many people around, the sound of their souls pressing against his mind like a physical weight. He heard Jellal telling people to let him be and that he would come back when he'd cooled off, which was true. Jellal had witnessed him in a similar state enough times to know it was best to leave Cobra alone. But there was always one idiot in a crowd.

Laxus ran after Cobra, reaching him quickly and saying, "Let me get you out of here so you can blow off some steam."

The Poison Dragon Slayer didn't slow his steps but listened to the insight provided by Laxus' soul. Apparently, the guy understood what it was like to need to kill something, though nowhere near as intensely as Cobra felt. Still, the guy had a good place in mind. Coming to a stop, he turned to look at the other dragon slayer as he said, "Fine. But then leave me the fuck alone. I'll get back on my own."

With a loud clap of thunder, the two were transported to a heavily wooded area outside Magnolia. Laxus told Cobra, "This is my land. Hunt whatever you want. Just don't go past my boundaries into the neighbor's land. The lady is a mean old hag."

Cobra started walking away before Laxus even finished speaking, only waving a hand dismissively at the other dragon slayer in hopes he would just leave. The rage he'd felt from before was hardly suppressed, pushing at the seams of his control, threatening to destroy everything around him. He had to get away from any other living being whose death would land him back in prison. Cobra hadn't felt this out of control in years, having learned to keep a tight leash on the bloodlust he felt when overcome by intense anger. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt like this, even back when he was an unhinged criminal who killed anyone that got in his way.

He pulled in a deep breath, scenting the air for anything he could track down, disappointed to find nothing more dangerous than a large buck looking for a female to rut. Whatever. It would have to be enough.

It wasn't long until Cobra was covered in the gore of a deer, its body parts strewn about haphazardly, decorating the surrounding trees and foliage in a macabre display. The fight, if it could even be called that, had hardly been fair for the deer. Cobra didn't bother to use poison or claws, he just hit the thing until it was dead. And then he pulled it to pieces. And threw them around.

Lucy would be disgusted by the sight.

The thought was a sobering one, helping him pull his mind back from the dark pit it had fallen into. She had been taken from him. There one second, close enough to touch, and then gone in the next. The intense emotions overwhelming him morphed into helplessness and grief. He dropped to his knees in the blood-soaked ground, fingers digging into the dirt as he struggled not to lose control again.

How could he find her when he couldn't hear her or the bastard that took her? All his strength, all his magic, all of it was useless to him in this moment. He couldn't protect the one person he'd ever truly loved.

There was a fluttering inside him, almost as if there was activity in the bond he shared with Lucy. He still couldn't hear her, only feel a light tugging. It disappeared almost as quickly as it came, but the sensation was undeniable. Lucy had been trying to reach him.

The brief touch from her gave him hope, replacing his despair with motivation. He tried to push reassurance back to her through the connection, not really sure if it was working but figuring it was worth a shot. He wasn't anywhere nearly as talented as Lucy at manipulating the emotional bond they shared but he tried anyway. There was a faint response, hardly more than an acknowledgement, but it was there. She was alive and trying to communicate with him.

Cobra sprang to his feet, turning in a circle in an attempt to orient himself. He'd traveled further than he thought, at least a couple miles from the spot Laxus had dropped him. That meant he had a long way to go to get back to the guildhall. With the correct direction in mind, Cobra took off at a steady run he could maintain for a long distance. It was a good thing dusk was setting in or he would terrify the hell out of any person he came across on his way.


	10. Chapter 10

Something was digging into her wrists, irritating the skin enough to wake her. When she reached one hand over to touch the opposite wrist, her fingers brushed cool metal, making her eyes snap open. That's right – She was shackled to a large stake in the center of a surprisingly lavish room. The accommodations were, by far, the best she'd ever stayed in while being the prisoner of a crazy person. She even had her own toilet instead of the usual piss bucket.

Most of her time was spent unconscious on the plush bed, being nearly constantly drained of her magic supply. Even when her magical reserves began to replenish, it was of no use to her. The cuffs on her wrists were of the magic cancelling variety, so she couldn't access the magic even when it was there. Which wasn't often. The guy kept her drained almost constantly. The emptiness left her with an unending headache and pain throughout her body.

When she wasn't sleeping, she was looking around the room at the lavish décor. The blonde had wondered from the beginning if she was stuck in a castle somewhere. The stone walls certainly made it seem that way. It would be in line with the whole abduction thing to be trapped in the tower of a castle, or maybe a dungeon, but this would be the nicest dungeon to ever exist. There were intricate tapestries on the walls, one depicting a fight between mages and dragons and another showing a city bustling with people at midday. The sconces on the walls were very nicely kept, shining in the light of the fires kept safely inside the glass. There was no furniture in the room other than the bed, likely as a preventative measure. A creative captive could make a weapon out of nearly anything.

It would only be a matter of time before the guy returned to drain her with that stone, leaving her unconscious once again. She had to try reaching out to Cobra while she still could, knowing she would be unable to for hours once she was knocked out. It was such a relief to realize the connection between them wasn't severed just because she was magically depleted. Lucy didn't know if that was because the connection depended on his magic, which should be fully in place, or if it was because their connection was on a soul deep level, unaffected by magic. It was a research topic for another time, one where she wasn't trapped in a comfortable prison.

Lucy closed her eyes and tried to relax into a meditative state, but it was ridiculously hard with the intense pain in her head. Eventually, she was able to get close enough to the necessary state to really feel the bond. It was stronger and more vibrant than last time – was that an entire day earlier? – which gave her hope that he was closer. Maybe he would find her soon.

He was still so angry at himself and everyone around him, obviously in just as bad a way as he'd been last time she reached him. Lucy was worried about his mental state. He definitely wasn't handling this very well. She focused on pushing comfort to him, trying to reassure him that she was ok. The reaction was instant – His anger lessened into something desperate she couldn't quite name. Knowing he felt that way hurt her deeply. He was so strong, both physically and mentally – desperation just didn't fit him. She focused on pouring all her love into the connection to soothe his frayed nerves a little more. The responding longing she felt in return made her want to hug him.

The door of the room opening snapped Lucy out of her deeply relaxed state. Her eyes opened to find Ken closing the door quietly before walking to her bedside. He sat in the cushioned chair instead of immediately draining her magic, so she assumed he wanted to talk. It was time for the Monologue of the Abductor. She'd been through this enough times to know what to expect.

With a glance at the untouched meal on the tray next to the bed, Ken said, "You have not eaten. Are you unwell?"

Well, that was confusing as hell. The guy was going to play nice? Deciding to just go with the flow, Lucy said, "Haven't had an appetite."

Picking up the glass of water, he handed it to her while saying, "At the very least, you need to stay hydrated. It will help with the headache you're likely feeling."

Eying him warily, she took a sip from the glass while wondering what his motivation was in this. He'd better not be some creepy pervert hoping she'd be his wife-in-chains or something.

"There's no need to be so wary of me." Ken said, noticing the nervous way she watched him. "I'm not here to harm you. If I didn't believe you'd try to run as soon as the chains were off, I'd even allow you to be free of them." Lucy raised a disbelieving brow at that but didn't interrupt what was clearly only the beginning of his speech. "You will be spending a very long time in my company, so I would prefer you to be comfortable. Time will mend many of the issues you have with me. I hope we can be friends of a sort one day, which will be easier once the pressure to supply me with light magic is no longer solely resting upon your shoulders. The other light mage should be joining you soon."

"Who?" Lucy asked, unable to stop herself from speaking.

"I believe you all refer to him as Jellal?" At the blonde's wide-eyed look, Ken nodded to himself and said, "That must be correct. The two of you have very powerful magic, enough that I should be able to release the others." The man smiled in a way that almost looked relieved, which didn't really make sense to Lucy. Maybe he was having an inner conflict over killing people to maintain the stone, on top of killing people with his inborn magic.

Her mind was distractedly considering all the difficulties death magic would cause a person, so she was taken totally off guard when Ken asked, "How likely is it for a child of yours to inherit your magic?"

The question had Lucy pressing back against the pillows, trying to put distance between them. Seeing her obvious fear, Ken lifted both hands in a gesture of peace. "I won't be touching you. With the long periods of time you will be spending alone with Jellal, the two of you fornicating is inevitable. Unless one of you is sterile, which is unlikely, your actions will eventually result in a child. My hope is that child will inherit one of your magics, preferably yours."

Lucy stared at him in abject horror. How could he say that with such a calm expression, as if he were detailing something as simple as her next meal? He was, essentially, planning to breed her with Jellal. That was just sick on so many levels. And what the hell was he going to do with the child in this plan? Use him or her as a magical battery, too? When she finally found her voice, her tone was full of anger as she said, "I would never give a child to you. Ever."

When he reached over to pat her knee in what was intended to be a comforting manner, Lucy kicked him in the face. The blood coming from his lip where she'd caught him with her heel gave her a sense of satisfaction, but the pain seemed to kill Ken's genial mood. His expression turned wicked, a dark smile forming on his lips as he let the blood run freely, not bothering to wipe it as it dripped down his chin. This was exactly how she would imagine a death mage looking. "You have so much fight in you. I will enjoy our time together."

With that ominous proclamation, he stood and left the room, leaving Lucy to wonder if maybe kicking him had been a mistake. His interest in her seemed to have morphed into something new and darker. She lay back down, wondering how long it would be until he returned to drain her magic. She tried to find the peacefulness needed to manipulate the emotional connection she shared with Cobra, but the effort was a failure with how jittery she felt. A future trapped in this place would be a bleak one.

She did her best to stuff that feeling away, not wanting it to travel to Cobra. He was already having such a hard time with her being here. Knowing she was now scared on top of everything else would only push him to a dangerous place. He had to be coming soon. The nearness she'd felt when tapping into the bond earlier had to mean he was, right? Stars above, she hoped so. Based on the number of meals she'd had, Lucy guessed three days had passed, though it could have been more if she slept for longer periods of time than she was aware.

It wasn't like she could use Horologium's key to check the time like she normally would. She had her keys, the guy hadn't taken them away, but the magic cancelling cuffs on her wrists kept her from doing anything with them. Lucy had initially thought Ken left the keys with her as a way to torment her, but after that conversation, she wondered if he thought he was being nice. The guy was absolutely insane. Either way, the presence of her keys was a comfort, not a torment.

She picked them up now, stroking each one in hopes her spirit friends could hear her whispering how much she missed them. If Ken's plan became a reality, she'd never see them again – but she stopped that train of thought before it could go any further. It wouldn't happen. Lucy knew Cobra and the rest of her family would be coming for her. It was only a matter of time.

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Lucy had only just fallen asleep when she was awoken abruptly by a rough bounce on the bed. Her eyes shot open to see a limp body next to her with Ken standing over the bed with a look of triumph. The dark mage smiled at her happily and said, "I brought you a friend."

The confused blonde looked at the person lying next to her, noticing the familiar cloak and blue hair. She couldn't believe he'd pulled off capturing Jellal, too. Her heart sank a little at that. If this guy was powerful enough to abduct Jellal, how in the world was she ever going to get free?

When she looked back at Ken, he had a set of cuffs with chains attached that was identical to the ones on her. She knew for a fact those hadn't been in the room seconds earlier, so the guy must be able to requip. Yet another reason for her hope to dwindle. If he could requip an unknown amount of bondage equipment, what else could he be hiding in the null space?

Still smiling brightly, Ken looked at Lucy and said, "Rest up, lovely lady. I'll need your magic at full capacity when I come back. With just a little more prep work, I should finally be able to implant the stone."

Lucy's face felt like it didn't know whether to scowl at the idea or smile in response to such happily spoke words. Based on his semi confused look, she was pretty sure her face was stuck in an expression trapped somewhere in the middle. The blonde couldn't help wondering what had happened to this guy to make him so demented. Also, who in the world had done him the disservice of giving him eyeliner without teaching him to apply it properly? Unless he'd just found a stick of it somewhere and smeared it around his eyes without looking in a mirror. Every single time she saw him, she wanted to get a makeup wipe and redo the horribly drawn lines.

As the dark mage flounced out of the room, harsh sounds of struggled breathing pulled Lucy's attention to Jellal. His body was lying awkwardly on the bed, having been tossed there carelessly by Ken and never adjusted after having the shackles applied. She reached over to push the guy's shoulders until he was lying flat on his back and adjusted his head so his neck wasn't crooked. The sound of his breathing evened out immediately, leaving Lucy to just stare at him as her mind started to work.

Jellal's arrival meant Ken would be expecting them to start screwing like rabbits, an idea Lucy was one hundred percent opposed to. She was totally committed to Cobra and had never felt any interest in Jellal to begin with. Just the idea of being forced to be intimate with the guy had her scooting over to the edge of the bed, just in case he woke up with crazy ideas. Her imagination starting creating a scenario where Ken had brainwashed Jellal into believing he was in love with Lucy and then acting on those fabricated feelings. Sometimes she hated her brain.

The blonde stretched out on the bed again, trying to get comfortable while staring at the stone ceiling. She was no longer tired after the events of the last few minutes. Her mind wandered back to Jellal being captured, wondering how it had even happened. The guy seemed like the type to do some kidnapping, not the other way around. Maybe it was on purpose? If the group tracking Lucy had realized Ken wanted Jellal too, would they have used him as bait? Probably. That sounded more likely. If that were the case, it would mean Jellal had some sort of tracking device on him.

With the idea motivating her, all sense of trepidation from before vanished and she started searching the man's clothing for anything that could be used to track him. She shoved his cloak out of the way, not seeing anything outlined beneath his ridiculously tight shirt. Lucy thought her own shirts were tight, but his made her own look baggy. Not bothering to check beneath the shirt, since it would just be way too weird and likely unnecessary, she started patting down his legs. The puffy pants didn't seem to be hiding anything other than surprisingly skinny legs. Stars above, the man was hiding a terrible case of chicken legs under the oversized pants. No wonder only his shirt was tight. Moving onto his boots, she pulled them off and shook each one, then pulled off his socks, too. Still nothing.

Sitting back on her heels, she started at the guy, wondering where a device could be hidden while ignoring the part of her mind that said she didn't even know for sure there was anything to be found. She crawled forward to rub her fingers through his hair and even checked behind each of his ears. Just when she was about to pry his mouth open to check in there, his eyes opened, making her scream in surprise.

Blinking rapidly, Jellal stared at her for a moment before saying, "Why were you pulling on my ears?" He looked down at his bare feet and then asked, "And did you take off my boots?"

"Um, well –" Lucy puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment. How could she explain that she'd basically just molested the man in hopes of finding an imagined tracking device? "So, you see, when the evil guy popped up with you, I was thinking there's no way you'd get kidnapped so easily. I thought maybe you got snatched on purpose, so I was checking you for a tracking device."

When he only stared at her in disbelief, Lucy became really uncomfortable and started rambling. "I'm sorry! I know it was rude of me to grab all over you but my imagination has been running wild! We've gotta get out of here before we end up having magical baby batteries."

"What? Magical baby batteries? Are you ok?" Jellal asked as he reached across his body to pull back one of his wristbands.

Lucy's posture sagged as she said, "No, not really. I mean I'm fine physically, but I've been trapped in this room for days with only that crazy guy to talk to between bouts of unconsciousness when he drains my magic." She watched him fumbling with his wristband for a second before asking, "How long have I been gone?"

"Six days."

"Oh, wow." One more day than she'd thought. Somehow, she'd lost track of an entire day.

Jellal held up a small, bead-looking thing and said, "You're not crazy."

"ohmygodisthatatrackinglacrima?!" Lucy spoke so fast that it came out as one jumbled word.

Nodding, Jellal held it between two fingers as if he were trying to pinch it, but then dropped his hand with a sigh. "I'm still too weak from being drained of my magic. Can you break this? It will alert the group of our location."

Much too excited to be gentle, Lucy snatched the small bead from him with more force than necessary and then crushed it between her fingers. When the outer shell cracked, the bead started glowing with a faint, golden light. Jellal took the tracker from Lucy and tucked it back into the small slit inside his wristband and he said, "Now we wait."

"How far away are they?" She asked as she lay back down, making sure to keep plenty of space between them. She was still way too weirded out by her imagination showing her how their future children would look.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I can't tell how far the mage's spell transported us from the abduction site. We had been in a heavily forested area where the man has a hideout full of mages he's been using to replenish the stone. Those people had just been freed from their cages when Ken arrived, likely alerted by our presence at the hideout."

So, there was no telling when the others would arrive. "How's Cobra?"

Jellal's sigh was not at all encouraging. "He's not doing well. I've never seen him quite so unbalanced. He's always been temperamental, but this is on an entirely new level. Occasionally, he calms down enough to be tolerable in the company of others. I believe the change directly coincides with the times you are awake and communicating with him in whatever form you're able. Otherwise, I do my best to keep him away from anyone not part of Crime Sorciere. He's paranoid and untrusting of all others, sometimes even of us, though it isn't quite as bad with our group."

Hearing how badly her prickly pear was suffering broke Lucy's heart. She immediately felt for the bond between them, feeling the intensity of Cobra's anger in that moment and trying to soothe him with her own emotions. She missed him so much and was so worried about him. His reaction was nearly instant, calming slightly as his anger diminished into a simmering frustration instead of all-out rage.

"He's really upset right now." She said quietly.

Jellal nodded, saying, "I'm not surprised. When Ken appeared, Cobra lost it. He knew the plan and knew it meant the dark mage would be lured to our location, but the forewarning didn't seem to make a difference once the man actually appeared."

Lucy didn't say anything else, just focused on maintaining the steady stream of emotion in the connection with Cobra. He'd have to be lucid for the group's plan to succeed, so she would do her best to help with that as much as possible. The distance she could feel between them was greater than days before, making her wonder why he couldn't track her. Bickslow had said it should be possible, something she'd been fervently hoping was true, but it didn't seem to be the case. If it were true, there had to be something interfering with his ability to feel her location.

Without more information, there was nothing she could do about that now. She could only do her best to help keep Cobra calm enough to be helpful in tracking them down.

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**A/N: Here's another one for you guys before the weekend! I had been planning to post this next week after adding a little more to the chapter, but changed my mind since I thought JenHeartAl might cry without an update on Lucy's wellbeing. J/K but seriously, thanks for the constant reviews, JenHeartAl.**

**For anyone bothered by the minimal editing to the chapter... I know, I know there are probably still some mistakes in there but I wanted to get this one posted. Keeping up with regular updates for two stories at once is a lot of fun but really challenging. Leave a comment or pm me if you see anything so terribly wrong that it can't be ignored.**

**Strap on your seatbelts boys and girls. Next chapter will be packed with all the feels.**


	11. Chapter 11

Lucy trembled slightly where she stood next to Jellal at the edge of the cavernous room. Ken had led them both by their chains down a very long flight of stairs and into the room they currently occupied, where he secured them to a ring in the floor. There were several other people in the room, all crowding around an operating table where Ken lay flat with restraints to keep him from moving.

The blonde knew what was about to happen and it had her very nervous. Enough so that she latched onto Jellal's hand, holding it tightly for comfort. The nearness of a friend helped her keep the panic contained enough that she didn't think Cobra would pick up on it. They were helpless to stop the procedure with their heavy chains attached to the floor and their magic out of reach. She didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt at hoping Ken's plan backfired and left him dead on that table.

She watched as the Stone of Light was carefully removed from its perch atop the staff Ken always carried with him. The woman now holding the stone handed it off to the man standing next to her, who then picked up a scalpel and made an incision in Ken's stomach. The dark mage gritted his teeth at the pain, groaning loudly and pulling against the tight restraints when the scalpel man pushed the brightly glowing stone inside the cut.

Another man stepped forward, his hands glowing blue with what Lucy assumed was healing magic. The wound on Ken's stomach sealed shut but the healer's hands stayed in place as he continued working on the internal damage done by the procedure. When the healer stepped away, everyone surrounding the operating table stood very still, as if they were all holding their breath to see the outcome of their work.

A glow started faintly at the spot where the stone was hidden inside Ken's body, getting brighter as the seconds passed. His chest rose from the table as his back arched and a scream tore from his throat. The glowing became brighter as it circulated through Ken's body until even his eyes shone with the light. The screaming grew louder and more pained sounding as the light began to pulse, seeming to fight against the darkness that shone between each throbbing glow.

Suddenly, the bright light burst with a force that pushed the darkness out of Ken in a vicious wave of power. The people surrounding the operating table collapsed to the ground with tremors racking their bodies. Lucy's grip on Jellal's hand tightened, his own grip becoming almost painful as the wave of darkness swept toward them. They backed away as far as they were able, but the chain prevented them from running.

"No!" Lucy screamed in terror, unable to contain her emotions any longer as she watched death approaching rapidly. She felt the responding rage from Cobra, but was helpless to do anything about it as the death magic overtook her and Jellal, causing them both to fall to the floor unconscious.

XXX

Finally, _finally_, they were making progress. And, of course, they were moving back in the direction Cobra had told them to go from the beginning. He'd known instinctually that Lucy was in the area, even if he couldn't hear her soul or feel her location through their bond. Somehow, he'd just known, but after two days of fruitless searching, he'd agreed to move on. Maybe if he hadn't, he would've found her by now.

Whatever. It was in the fucking past and he had something else to focus on. They were less than half a day's travel from the location of Jellal's tracker and Cobra was impatiently waiting for the rest of the group to be ready to move again. If he wasn't absolutely sure he would fail at any attempt to rescue Lucy alone, he would've already been gone. But he had to sit with the other assholes in the search party and wait for the rest Fairy Tail mages to show up. All the remaining dragon slayers and what sounded like most of the guild were on their way to meet up with them. He didn't know what the Lightning Dragon Slayer had told everyone after teleporting to the guild to update the others, but it had motivated a lot of people to help.

Cobra had ended up with the Seith Mage as his babysitter. The theory had been that the guy's magic could incapacitate Cobra if he lost control of himself, as long as the guy didn't end up poisoned. It had been proven correct earlier that day when Lucy's side of their bond had been flooded with fear before cutting off entirely, sending Cobra into a frenzied rage. He only vaguely remembered what happened after losing touch with his woman, but the ring of shriveled, blackened grass gave him an idea. The lives of everyone in the group had likely been saved by the Seith Mage when his little souls had bashed Cobra in the head hard enough to daze him so the guy could get a chance to catch the dragon slayer in his green gaze. It was the last thing Cobra remembered before waking up on his back in the circle of dark grass.

Just thinking about the fear she'd felt made Cobra's anger flare, but he reminded himself that she'd been there in the bond again when he'd woken up, so there was no way she was dead. She had just been very, very afraid. He really needed to get to her and then kill the fucker that was causing her so much suffering.

The little totems started hovering around his head again, but he could tell they weren't about to try to knock his head off. His magic let him hear their emotions, so he knew they only wanted to make sure he was alright. The trapped souls were more intuitive than he'd ever known.

Seeming to know what Cobra was thinking about, Bickslow said, "They're still in touch with the emotions of others in the same way any other living soul senses another's feelings."

Cobra only nodded, not in the mood to talk. He was stuck with his keeper at all times since his little episode, but at least the guy was easy to be around. His soul was peaceful like Lucy's. Not at all similar in sound, but having the same caring, gentle nature to it that Cobra wouldn't have associated with the large man.

There was a growing pile of melted pebbles at Cobra's feet. He sat on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk while sifting through the dirt for rocks to destroy or bugs to kill. The grass was long since gone, having been the first victim of his restless boredom.

As soon as the souls of the incoming group came into what should've been hearing range for any normal human, Cobra shot to his feet saying, "Let's go. They're close enough."

The rest of the group followed suit, not bothering to object since they could all hear the approaching crowd. With this many mages working together, there was no way they could fail in getting to Lucy and Jellal.

XXX

The blonde awoke in the soft bed she'd come to know so well. Jellal's body was lying next to her and she could see his chest moving, so she knew he was still alive. She was a little confused by the change of scenery, but her confusion didn't last long when her eyes fell on Ken. He was seated next to the bed in the chair she'd deemed as his, just staring at her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. His eyes glowed faintly, a clear sign the stone was still active inside him.

"How are you feeling? Was there any lasting damage?" His tone sounded genuinely concerned, as if he hadn't been meaning to nearly kill her and Jellal. She supposed he probably hadn't because it would've ruined all his plans.

She shook her head slightly, not really sure of what to say. "How?"

He seemed to understand what she was asking because he explained, "The elimination of my natural magic was successful, but I hadn't expected its expulsion to kill everyone nearby. You and your friend are only alive because your own magic counteracted mine when I removed the cuffs."

Lucy looked down at her hand hopefully but found the magic cancelling cuffs in place. In response to her movement, Ken said, "I replaced the cuffs as soon as the two of you were no longer in danger of dying."

Sighing in resignation, Lucy let her head fall back into the soft pillow and stared at the ceiling. She didn't have anything to say to the guy. There wasn't any point. Unaffected by her morose attitude, Ken kept talking. "It was quite amazing to see the way your magic exploded from your bodies to dispel the darkness. The wave of power produced by the two of you even saved one of my researchers and recharged the stone."

"Wonderful." Lucy said sarcastically, not truly feeling saving the life of someone who had assisted this crazy man in becoming more of a monster was something to celebrate.

"Yes, most definitely." Ken agreed, having completely missed her sarcasm. He stood as he said, "Well, I must attend to other things. I will leave you two in peace to rest. I should not be needing your assistance in powering the stone for another day or two now that it will no longer be constantly filtering the darkness I was born into."

"Ok." Lucy said, assuming he was waiting for some sort of acknowledgement from her before leaving the room. She must've been correct, because he walked out immediately after she spoke.

Jellal's tired sounding voice said, "He's crazy."

With a huff, Lucy answered, "I noticed."

XXX

Lucy shot up to a sitting position while saying, "Cobra's here. I can feel him."

Jellal also sat up, both of them looking around as if they would see the dragon slayer hiding in a corner. Lucy shook her head at the ridiculous thought and said, "I'm not sure exactly how far away he still is, but it's like he just appeared again in the connection we share. There must be some sort of barrier around this place that was blocking it and he just crossed over it."

She couldn't keep herself from smiling at the thought of finally seeing him and getting the hell out of the room they were trapped in. The blonde wasn't sure how many hours had passed since she'd awoken to find Ken at her bedside with his creepy, glowing eyes, but she thought it was probably early evening.

There was a loud booming sound on the other side of the wall, and then it collapsed inward with an explosion of debris and chunks of stone. The shock of it made Lucy scream and scramble backward on the bed until she was nearly on top of Jellal, which is exactly what Cobra saw when he came flying through the hole.

"What the fuck?" He said harshly, all his movements frozen as he tried to process what he was seeing. There was no logical explanation for why he would find his woman in chains in a bed with Jellal, practically sitting in the man's lap. But the reason didn't matter. The blueberry was going to die.

Natsu came soaring through the hole directly after Cobra, though he didn't seem disturbed at all by the scene he found. "Hey Luce! You good?" When she nodded dazedly, he said, "Alright! I'm gonna go burn some shit up and find the asshole that did this."

"Ok?" She answered her best friend as he disappeared out the door on the other side of the room. Lucy looked at Cobra again, a huge smile spreading over her face now that the initial shock of the wall exploding had worn off. She threw herself off the bed at him, but he was clearly distracted.

"Why the hell were you in bed with him?" Cobra demanded, the unbalanced look in his eyes made her realize this wasn't going to be the loving reunion she'd hoped for. The expression didn't go unnoticed by Jellal either, prompting him to begin moving slowly off the bed to back as far away as his chain would allow. He wasn't sure he could fend off Cobra without access to his magic.

Gesturing around the room, she said, "Where else were we going to sit? It's not like we can go wherever we want." She tugged on the chain attached to her wrist for emphasis.

"There's a chair right there." Cobra said while pointing at the lone cushioned chair as if its existence proved something.

"That's Ken's chair. I'm not sitting in it." Lucy's adamantly spoken statement didn't seem to penetrate the haze of anger clouding Cobra's mind, because all he could hear were the thoughts that flooded her mind when she mentioned the dark mage.

One of the things he heard made this rage take on a life of its own, nearly overwhelming Lucy with its intensity as it flooded their connection. Cobra was close to snapping when he asked, "You're having his fucking baby?"

"Huh?" The blonde was forced to put her hands against Cobra's chest to prevent him from lunging at Jellal. She was barely managing to keep him retrained, and knew she was only having slight success because he didn't want to hurt her by throwing her off. Eventually her mind caught up with what she'd just heard and she might've laughed if Cobra wasn't trying to kill an innocent man.

"Cobra, honey, it's not what you think." Her words seemed to bounce right off him. His efforts to get past her became more forceful, until he just put his hands on her waist to lift her up and forcefully move her out of the way. Before he could set her down again, Lucy slapped Cobra as hard as she could while shouting, "Erik! Stop it!"

The sting of her hand against his cheek pulled his attention back to her. Still holding her a few inches off the ground, which put her at eye level with him, he said, "Why the hell did you just hit me? Now you're defending him?"

"No, you idiot!" Lucy's patience with the entire situation was done. She'd missed Cobra so much and wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around his neck in a tight hug but he was being such an ass. "If you'd stop your little tantrum long enough to hear all the details of the memory you picked up on instead of rampaging like a maniac, you'd know I've never touched Jellal like that!"

He stopped everything, finally really hearing what Lucy was saying. Cobra took the time to listen to the entire memory she was practically projecting for him, and then felt like the ass she'd just called him. "So, no baby."

"No! You should've known that wasn't true from the beginning. I don't want him." The clear disgust in her words had the blue haired man feeling a little offended, but he wasn't about to risk his life by voicing his hurt feelings. He just stayed still and quiet, trying to hide in plain sight.

Lucy stroked Cobra's cheek gently as she said, "You're the only one I want. Nothing will change that."

Finally really hearing and understanding what she was saying, Cobra set Lucy down and immediately wrapped his arms tightly around her. He closed his eye and inhaled deeply with his face buried in her hair. The tight ball of tension in his chest finally broke, making him shudder slightly with the relief he felt at having her with him again.

The chains prevented Lucy from returning the embrace, but she nuzzled her face against his neck in the way she knew would draw a response from his inner dragon. He growled gently and tightened his hold on her even more, making her smile, though her ribs felt like they might crack if he applied any more pressure to the hug. She kissed his neck and rubbed her nose against it again as she said, "I've missed you so much. I was so worried about you, knowing how much you were suffering without being able to tell you I was ok."

He finally released her and started running his hands over her body to look for any unseen injuries. She laughed a little at his sudden overattentiveness since there wasn't much of her body that couldn't be seen. She was still dressed in the same athletic bra and spandex shorts she'd been abducted in. "Cobra, really, I'm fine. Nothing happened to me at all. I've just been trapped in this room, except for when I almost died when Ken absorbed the stone, but that's it."

Cobra froze, his eye narrowing at what she'd just said as he listened to the details of what happened earlier that day. "That sick fucker is going to die."

"We'll see, but can we get these off?" She lifted her hands, shaking them enough to make the chains clink.

Cobra reached for her wrists, holding the manacles in his hands and stroking his thumbs across the cool metal as he said, "I hate seeing you in these." The sight brought back too many memories of his own time in chains. He never wanted to see her like this again.

"Too bad Gajeel isn't here." Lucy sighed as she said, "He'd probably bite right through them without a problem."

"That's a good idea." Cobra said as he looked up at her, wondering why the hell he hadn't thought of that sooner. His head was still not on straight. Turning to go back to the hole in the wall, Cobra leaned his head out and shouted, "Hey, iron dick! Get your ass in here."

He immediately returned to Lucy, putting both arms around her to hold her tightly against him while they waited for the other dragon slayer. It wouldn't be long since Cobra could hear the guy thinking of a way to scale the tower wall using his magic to create spikes. The hum of a nearby soul reminded Cobra they weren't alone in the room. He lifted his head from where it had been buried in Lucy's hair and looked at Jellal to say, "Sorry about that, man."

"It's no problem." Jellal said with a dismissive wave, though he didn't move even an inch forward. It was clear to him that Cobra still wasn't in a safe mindset, so he figured he was better off as far away as possible. "I'm just glad you wanted to kill me with your hands instead of your poison or Lucy might've been too late in explaining things."

"I hadn't even thought of that." Lucy muttered quietly into Cobra's chest, suddenly glad he preferred to vent his anger with his hands. Now that things had settled down, she realized there was a fight going on outside.

Cobra explained, "There are a bunch of assholes out there. The guy must've called in all his back up because he's got a small army, but so do we. Most of your guild is here with mine and they're beating them back. I didn't bother slowing down enough to help once I figured out where you were, and your burning asshole of a friend insisted on following me."

"I doubt his asshole ever burns. He's immune to all types of fire." Her horrible joke made Cobra laugh. She always said the weirdest shit and he loved it.

When Gajeel climbed through the hole in the wall, he said, "Hey bunny."

Cobra turned around to block Lucy from view with his entire body and let out a warning growl when Gajeel stepped closer. Not having any of that, Lucy pinched Cobra's side as hard as she could and stepped to the side saying, "Stop that. You're the one that called him up here, remember?"

Shooting Lucy a glare, Cobra moved to stand directly behind her with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She rolled her eyes but didn't object. Lifting her wrists up, she asked Gajeel, "You hungry?"

"Hell yeah. I never turn down a chance to eat." The Iron Dragon Slayer made quick work of removing her cuffs and then set to work on Jellal's.

As soon as Lucy was free, her magic flared inside of her and a bright flash of light revealed Loke and Virgo. The lion spoke first saying, "Princess! My apologies for not getting to you sooner. I would've been happy to keep you company in bed while you were trapped here alone for so long."

Cobra growled possessively again, but Lucy ignored him to say, "Oh quit, you giant perv." Looking at Virgo, Lucy asked, "Would you like to help dish out some punishment?"

The maid inhaled audibly and said, "Yes, Princess. I would love nothing more than to help you punish the evil man."

Leaning and twisting, Lucy managed to plant a kiss on Cobra's cheek with him still holding her so tightly and then said, "You ready to kick some ass, babe?"

"More than you know."

X

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**A/N: Guuuuyysss! The final chapter is almost here! I almost combined this one and the next to make it into one long finale but I decided not to. You'll just have to wait until next week for the fight and wrap up! This story has been so much fun to write. It started out as a one or two shot that sat in my 'maybe I'll post this one day' folder for about a year before I finally put it up. And now it's a full-blown story that I've come to love. Ending it is bittersweet, but I'm feeding my CoLu love with my other story (shameless plug – go read On the Run) so I'm ready for this one to be finished. **

**Leave a review!**


	12. Chapter 12

"This really is a castle." Lucy looked around at the outdated finery lining the halls as the small group ran to catch up with her fire breathing partner. Even if she hadn't been in the company of two dragon slayers, she would've been able to find him with all the noise he was making.

Cobra only grunted in response, not at all impressed with the place. He didn't give a shit if it was a castle or an abandoned shack. The guy running the place was still going to die.

Feeling the spike in anger through their connection, Lucy reached over to gently run a hand across Cobra's back as they ran. Her touch immediately pulled his mind back, making him look in her direction. He heard what she was thinking and knew it was something that had to be addressed now. The couple stopped, letting Jellal, Gajeel and the two spirits pass them as Cobra said, "We'll catch up in a second."

"Alright," the other dragon slayer called out, hardly slowing his pace as he said, "but don't expect us to leave you a piece of the action if you take too long." The Celestial Spirits looked over at their contract holder, waiting for her to nod at them before following after the other two mages.

When they were out of earshot, Cobra asked, "Why don't you want me to kill him? The asshole deserves to die."

Lucy stepped forward to put her arms around her lover's waist, laying her head against his chest as she said, "I don't disagree, but I'm worried about what killing him will do to you. I can feel the damage to your soul just from the two of us being separated. Torturing and killing the guy that caused this isn't going to help."

He let out a frustrated sigh and returned her embrace. Having her care about his wellbeing was still new to him, especially knowing she cared about the state of his soul. This woman cared about every part of him, even the things she couldn't see. While rubbing his cheek against the top of her head, he relented, "I'll try to hold back, but I'm not making any promises."

She could feel the truth of his words through their connection but could also feel the way he struggled internally with the concept of allowing the dark mage to live. She lifted her head from his chest to look up into his face as she said, "Thank you. I know it won't be easy."

"Maybe later you can show me how grateful you are." His small smirk made her smile, glad to see a bit of his personality breaking through his anger.

Lucy rose up onto her toes to press her lips against his before saying, "I'm sure I can think of a way to do that."

Unable to resist, Cobra growled low in his throat in response to the things she was thinking as he used one hand to grip her hair while he kissed her again. This kiss wasn't a gentle one, but full of rough passion and desperation fueled by the intense need he'd felt for her during their separation. In the short time they'd been fully bonded, Cobra had come to need Lucy like he needed air, hardly able to function without her nearby. He no longer cared that he was forever bound to this woman, only that she stayed with him always.

Returning the kiss with a matching intensity, Lucy pressed her body more fully against Cobra's as their lips moved together, tongues intertwining hungrily. She suddenly couldn't get enough of him, unable to pull away from him even long enough take a breath. Her back suddenly came in contact with the stone wall just before Cobra's hands were beneath her ass, lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around his hips. The kiss became full of sexual need, both of them wanting to fill themselves with the other to forget about their earlier suffering.

Just as Cobra was considering tearing through the fabric of her shorts to gain access to exactly where he needed to be, there was a crashing sound and shouting from further down the hall. Even with Lucy's average hearing, she could make out the sound of Natsu's voice, as well as other noises of a raging battle. Finally breaking away from Cobra's lips, Lucy said breathily, "We should probably go help them."

He only hummed in response as he kissed along her jawline and neck until she started thinking maybe they should just stay where they were. Pressing a final kiss to the sensitive spot below her ear, Cobra said, "Yeah, we should go. Your partner is getting his ass handed to him."

Those words cleared the last of the haze clouding Lucy's mind and had her dropping her legs to stand on her own two feet. Grabbing Cobra's hand to pull him along behind her, Lucy started running in the direction they'd been headed before. She released her hold on him so she could pump both arms to move faster. The increased volume as they neared the fighting clued Lucy in to what Cobra had meant. Natsu's shouting and growling sounded angry but tired, as if he'd taken a beating that was wearing him down.

When they reached the others, they found themselves in a huge room that looked like an open hall lined with pillars. There was a set of large double doors that looked like an entrance, so Lucy thought they were likely in the castle's entryway. The room was full of people caught in intense battles. Lucy quickly spotted Loke and Virgo, the two of them working together to take out a mage. She was relieved to see both her spirits were fine, if not a little too excited on Virgo's part. The maid's usually monotone expression was in place, but her eyes held a gleam that Lucy rarely saw. She watched as Virgo expertly wielded a whip, excitedly giving out punishment as she'd been promised.

Cobra put a hand on Lucy's shoulder to pull her attention back to him as he said, "Stick with your spirits. I'll go help Natsu." He knew she'd be safe with them as long as she stayed away from Ken.

Before he could move away from her, Lucy grabbed the front of his coat to pull him down to kiss him one more time before saying, "Be careful."

"You too. No more infirmary visits for us." He gently caressed her cheek before turning to go join the fight against the dark mage he'd been fantasizing about crushing for so long.

By the time Lucy reached Loke and Virgo, they'd overwhelmed the man they were fighting and had simply been waiting on her. Since the two of them were out on their own power, Lucy was able to call on Taurus while activating Capricorn's star dress. As soon as Taurus had fully materialized, he eyed Lucy while saying, "Your mooooving body is looking good, Miss Lucy!"

"Thanks, Taurus." She answered while trying not to laugh at the possessive irritation she could feel from Cobra's side of their bond. Apparently, he didn't like her bull spirit's appreciation of her body.

With her spirits surrounding her, Lucy felt like she was channeling Natsu as she asked, "Whaddya say to kicking some ass and clearing some of these jerks out of here?"

"Anything for you, Princess." Loke said as he pushed his glasses further up his nose, his sentiment echoed by the other two as they all moved to confront the nearest enemy.

Cobra kept his attention divided between the fight he was approaching and Lucy's soul. It had been hard for him to separate from her, even such a short distance, but he knew she could hold her own in a fight and would be better off away from the dark mage that started all this trouble.

He'd barely reached the other two dragon slayers fighting Ken when he had to tackle Natsu to the floor to keep the guy from taking a blast of light to the chest. As he lifted himself up from the floor, Cobra snarled, "Get your head out of your ass."

Natsu rolled to get his feet under him, his movements much slower than usual. "I need some fire power. This guy just won't go down."

Looking around the room, Cobra saw several unlit torches lining the walls. He looked over at Lucy, who had already picked up on what he needed through their connection. With a burst of her magic, she was suddenly wearing a green dress and holding a bow while reaching behind her to pull an arrow with a flint tip from a quiver. The blonde released the arrow, notching another immediately. Several of the flint tipped arrows flew through the air, each striking the stone wall in a quick staccato that lit the torches from the sparks created by the arrowheads' impact against the wall.

Cobra was again impressed with how his woman handled herself in a fight. With a quick wink in his direction, she released the Star Dress as she turned her focus back to her own battle, leaving him to take care of business with the other dragon slayers.

"You're the best, Luce!" Natsu shouted as he pulled each of the small fires in to refuel his magic. "I'm all fired up!"

"Then let's take this fucker out. He can't take a punch, so if we can get in close enough to hit him, that'll be the best way to wear him down." Cobra moved toward the spot where Gajeel was currently engaging Ken. It seemed the Iron Dragon Slayer had figured out exactly what Cobra had just revealed to Natsu. One of Gajeel's arms was extended as an iron rod he was using to bash away at the dark mage every change he got.

Lucy's attention was also divided between her own fight and Cobra's, doing her best to keep an eye on his mental state. He was much better off than he had been the entire time she'd been held captive but he was still teetering on the edge of his control. She didn't want to see him struggle with the regret he would feel if he lost himself to the bloodlust she could feel simmering under the surface.

Her full focus was pulled back to the mage she and her spirits were working together to defeat. The man was strong, requiring Lucy to use all her tactical skills to come up with a way to defeat him without using any light based attacks. After some trial and error, Lucy activated Capricorn's Star Dress and worked with Loke to fight the guy back into a corner where Virgo wrapped him up in a full body hold while Taurus went in for the final blow. With the man down, the celestial group turned their attention onto the next mage.

A loud sound at the double doors pulled everyone's focus to the entrance where they saw familiar faces coming to the rescue. Bickslow was through the doorway first, riding in on his babies as he shouted, "Lucy Goosey! You're lookin good!"

When her foot came down after kicking a guy in the head, she answered, "Feeling right as rain, Bixy!"

The rest of the Thunder God Tribe made it through the doorway, followed closely by Erza and Gray. The redhead immediately noticed Jellal struggling to fight off a pair of wizards who were taking full advantage of his reluctance to use magic. Glancing over at Lucy, Erza said, "Since you do not appear to need assistance, I will help Jellal."

Without saying more than, "Hey, Lucy", Gray also joined in on the action, making his way over to the fight on the other end of the room between the main target and the dragon slayers.

Once the last of the mages near Lucy and her spirits went down, she turned her attention to the main battle, noticing immediately that Ken didn't seem to be flagging at all. The only change in his demeanor was the deranged look on his face. It seemed her theory about the light magic making him crazy may actually prove to be true because the guy looked completely out of his mind. Even his pupils were blown wide, the physical side effect made obvious by the way it contrasted against the bright glow coming from his eye sockets.

The self-proclaimed Queen of the Fairies had also been analyzing the fight the dragon slayers were in, leading her to ask, "Do you think the glow in the man's eyes will make him immune to eye magic? Turning him to stone could be a simple solution to this problem."

"Most likely." Freed answered Evergreen, his eyes also on the fight. "From what I've read and witnessed, the stone's power grants its wielder immunity to many magics."

Lucy chimed in, saying, "I have an idea that just might work, but if it backfires, we'll all be in trouble."

"Well, spit it out, Blondie. No use in keeping us on our toes." Laxus was itching to join in on the fight with the other slayers but he wasn't sure if he'd end up causing more trouble with his magic.

Looking back at Ken to gauge his level of sanity, she was reassured to see he looked even crazier than he had moments earlier. His demented smile only added to the look of insanity on his face. "We need to overload the stone, putting everything we've got into it. His body is barely handling the drastic change in magic types as it is, so I don't think he'll be able to withstand more power."

Laxus nodded, liking the idea, but Freed's voice stopped him from acting on it. "That seems to be sound logic, but if you're wrong, we will lose three," looking at the spirits next to Lucy, Freed corrected himself, "make that six strong fighters."

"We don't have many other options. At this rate, our people will tire out before he does." Lucy watched as Cobra ducked beneath a blast of light to move in so he could hit Ken in the stomach directly over the spot the stone was implanted. The agony caused by the blow was clear, but it was temporary. Ken immediately righted himself and moved to attack again, narrowly missing Cobra's head as the dragon slayer dodged. Pulling her attention away, Lucy looked to the others to ask, "Is there still fighting going on outside?"

"Yeah," Laxus answered, "not a lot but enough that most everyone is still out there fighting. Everyone else is helping the wounded."

"Then I don't think we have much of a choice." Lucy insisted, her eyes drawn back to the fight involving two of the people most important to her in all of Earthland. "We have to take this guy out now before he kills one of our people."

With a nod, Freed agreed, "Then it's settled." The Rune Mage lifted a hand into the air to draw the attention of Erza and Jellal, prompting the pair to make their way over to the group.

Lucy relayed her plan to Jellal, who said, "I think you're right about this. Ken has been noticeably different each time we've seen him today."

"And we will protect each of you should this plan fail." Erza proclaimed, making the other Fairy Tail mages voice their agreement.

As the non-light magic users moved back to give them some room, Lucy instructed Virgo, "Tunnel beneath the floor and grab Ken when we're ready to attack. Hold him still throughout the attack so he can't escape. Consider this to be your punishment." Lucy knew those last words would seal the deal for the maid. Not that she would've objected otherwise, but the idea of punishment from Lucy would give the maid more incentive to endure the blast along with Ken. The guilt the blonde felt over causing one of her beloved spirits any pain was assuaged by the look in the maid's eyes.

Virgo's expression became a little glazed over as anticipation flooded her at the thought of receiving such an intense punishment from her key holder. Before disappearing beneath the floor, she bowed and said, "Of course, Princess."

Lucy closed Taurus' gate and called on Gemini, who appeared as Lucy in a towel. "Seriously? I know you could've come out clothed." The twins just laughed in Lucy's voice as they said, "But we like this outfit much more than your others."

Rolling her eyes, the blonde turned to the other two mages and Loke to say, "Alright, guys. Let's do this."

Standing back to back with Gemini, Lucy and the spirit began to chant in unison as they prepared to unleash Urano Metria. Jellal followed suit, lifting his hands straight up while chanting in preparation for his own attack. At the same time, Loke drew heavily on the full power of his constellation to make his hands glow with the blinding light of a star. The fine hairs along everyone's body stood on end as Laxus released his lightning, letting it crawl along his skin, sizzling and crackling with its intensity.

Focusing on her connection with Cobra and hoping with all her might that he was paying attention, she mentally told him to get out of the way. She knew he'd heard when he gave up the opportunity to move in for a kick to Ken's head and instead flung himself to the floor out of the way. At the same moment, Virgo popped up from the ground to wrap her strong arms around Ken's, pinning his arms to his sides. The maid's eyes widened with excitement as she watched five mages simultaneously unleash blasts of powerful magic in her direction.

A piercing sound filled the room as the beams of light flew through the air, blasting into Ken's chest. The stone soaked up the power, its throbbing becoming an intense light that forced everyone to shut their eyes. Ken's voice cried out, joining the harsh scream of magic filling the air. The sound was almost unbearable, making Lucy's ears ache. Each of the light wielding mages poured everything they had into the blast, doing their best to overload the stone so heavily that Ken's body would reject it instantly.

When the guttural scream of pain cut off suddenly, it became clear their plan had worked. Releasing the power they had been channeling at the dark mage, each of the light wielders slouched in relief. Lucy immediately closed Gemini's gate after thanking the spirit, hoping to reserve enough magic to stay conscious.

Her heart dropped to her stomach when she looked over to see Cobra lying unmoving on the floor. She started walking toward him, stumbling a little due to the sudden drain in magic. He still didn't move as she approached, which would have terrified Lucy more if she couldn't still feel him in their bond. It was clear he was still alive but badly injured. Seeing Lucy struggle to walk forward, Loke put an arm around her waist and helped her cross the distance to her lover.

The rise and fall of Cobra's chest became clear as they neared, making relief rush through Lucy. Seeing a visual confirmation of his life eased some of her worry. She dropped to her knees next to him, touching his face gently as she called his name. The blood trickling from his ears gave her an idea of what had happened to him. She assumed the noise of their attack had overloaded his sensitive ears and caused him to lose consciousness. It wasn't all that surprising since the sound had been enough to make her own ears hurt. Tapping his cheek gently, she focused on trying to wake him through their connection instead of by speaking. Depending on how badly his ears had been damaged, he may not hear anything until his dragon slayer magic healed his eardrums.

Lucy felt him stirring through the bond and knew the moment he was awake before he'd even opened his eye. When he sat up abruptly and looked around in shock, she felt the surge of terror in his soul and picked up enough of his thoughts to know he couldn't hear anything. She placed her hands on both sides of his face, pulling his focus back to her. His eyes were wide with fear as he stared at her, unable to hear even the souls around him without his ears functioning. Lucy focused on pushing reassurance to him through their connection, knowing immediately that he could feel it when he started to calm down a bit. Cobra clutched at her shoulders, holding tightly to her and staring into her eyes as if he thought she might disappear if he weren't holding onto her. Without his ability to hear her soul and considering the experience they'd gone through the last few days, Lucy figured that's probably exactly what he thought.

Not looking away from Cobra's eye, Lucy called out, "Virgo, can you bring me a poison?"

The maid appeared at Lucy's side, making Cobra jump in surprise. He jerked Lucy to his chest protectively and snarled at the spirit, though she was unphased. "Princess, this vial is the most potent poison I could find on short notice. My magic is depleted enough that I will not be able to stay in your realm much longer."

With her voice muffled against Cobra's chest, Lucy said, "Thanks, Virgo. Just set it down. You can go home. I'll call you later if I need you."

As soon as she felt Virgo's gate close, Lucy tapped on Cobra's chest trying to get him to let her sit up. He did after a moment, but not before looking around to make sure no one else was approaching them. Lucy reached over to pick up the vial of poison, handing it to Cobra without removing the stopper. She had no idea what was inside, so she didn't know if touching even the slightest amount would hurt her. He accepted the vial warily, popping out the cork with his teeth and then sniffing before swallowing down the vial's contents in one go. The effect was immediate. Ingesting the source of his magic clearly revitalized him. His posture straightened out from its formerly exhausted slouch and his tight hold on Lucy relaxed as sounds started to trickle back in.

"Better?" She asked, noticing how he stared at her lips as she spoke. He nodded in response, still only hearing the barest hints of sound. When the melody of her soul became audible to him again, he closed his eye in relief. Twice now he'd been forced to listen to her soul disappear. He never wanted to hear that again.

His voice sounded odd, as if he were focusing on not accidentally shouting as he said, "Still barely hear shit but it's getting better."

The couple looked around to see the others in the room gathered around Ken, who was still unconscious but tied up securely on the floor. Lucy recognized the restraints as Virgo's handiwork. There was an obvious gap in the distance between the group and the place where Cobra and Lucy sat. They had all noticed Cobra's distress and no one wanted to test the dragon slayer's temper after they'd spent so many days witnessing what he was like while upset.

After waiting a bit longer for more of Cobra's hearing to return, the two of them stood to join the others gathered around the dark mage. At some point, the missing members of Crime Sorciere had arrived, though both Lucy and Cobra had missed it entirely. Sorano eyed Cobra up and down before saying, "You look like shit."

"Not looking so hot yourself." He said while staring at her muddied dress.

With a huff, she said, "Don't remind me. The asshole that ruined my outfit won't survive to see another day."

Cobra looked down at the man that had caused them so much trouble. Before Lucy could intervene, he kicked Ken in the face, enjoying the crunch of the man's cheekbone as it fractured. The blonde pulled him back before he could do more damage as she said, "Alright, enough of that. You've done him enough damage."

He disagreed but didn't put any effort into pulling away from Lucy to act on the things he was wanting to do. Instead, he put both arms around her, pulling her back against his front and resting his chin on her head. With her body fully pressed against his, he finally started to relax a little.

Looking toward her trusty lion, Lucy asked, "Loke, do you think the stone is from the Celestial Realm?"

"Probably," he answered while staring at the bright glow under Ken's skin. "I can return it safely to our world once it's removed."

Stepping forward with a dagger suddenly in hand, Erza said, "Allow me." She sliced along the skin directly above the brightest point of the glow, turning her head away when the brightness became too much for her eyes. Loke knelt next to her since the star-like glow didn't bother him. He made a disgusted face as he pushed his fingers into the incision, pulling the bright stone free. The blood coating the stone burned away instantly, leaving it perfectly clean in his hand. Closing it in his fist to conceal the light, Loke said, "You can open your eyes now."

Directing his gaze to Lucy, Loke said, "I'll be returning this now, Princess. Call on me if you need anything." With a suggestive wink, he added, "And I mean anything." The zodiac leader disappeared just as Cobra started snarling aggressively.

"Stupid lion." Lucy muttered while reaching up to rub a hand against Cobra's neck. He relaxed against her again as soon as it was clear there were no other threats nearby.

"So, what do we do with him?" Natsu asked while roughly shoving the toe of his shoe against Ken's thigh. "We gonna call the Rune Knights or…?" He let the question trail off, not really caring if someone suggested a darker alternative.

"Turning him over to the Rune Knights is the most honorable thing we can do." Erza announced before anyone else could speak up. None of the others cared enough to argue with the woman, so she and Jellal left the group to find someone with a communications lacrima they could use to call in the authorities.

Lucy stared at Ken, hating the idea of the guy going anywhere else with the terrible eyeliner still on his face. No one else should be forced to witness such a terrible abuse of beauty products. What if the person to witness the horror of his face was a child who didn't know any better? This could become a trend. She just couldn't let that happen. She looked over at Midnight, knowing the man had to carry a plethora of cosmetic products on him at all times. When Cobra chuckled against her head, she felt encouraged to ask, "Hey, Midnight, you have any makeup removal wipes?"

With a glare harsh enough to burn, Midnight stared at Cobra as he answered Lucy, "I do, but you'll have to ask that jerk where they're at."

Still chuckling, Cobra reached out his hand, pulling a cosmetics bag out of a small requip space. Jaw hanging open in shock, Lucy turned to look at him as she asked, "You can requip?"

Midnight snatched the bag from Cobra's hand as he spoke before the dragon slayer could. "This asshole learned a new form of magic just to torment me."

Lucy tried to hold in her laughter, she really did, but it burst free as she doubled over while clutching her stomach. When she stood upright again, she was still laughing as she asked Cobra, "You learned to requip just to hide his makeup?"

Shrugging, he smiled as he answered, "You'd look for ways to torment him if you had to listen to him and the bubblegum princess screwing each other's brains out while you try to sleep."

"I can't believe – I just – " Lucy was still laughing too hard to speak a full sentence. When she finally had herself under control, she wiped her eyes and looked at Midnight, having to bite her lip to keep from laughing again at the way he was glaring at her.

"Are you done?" His touchy tone threatened to make her lose the tight hold she had on her amusement. When she nodded, he shook his head irritably as he unzipped the bag to remove a package of makeup removal wipes. He pulled two out, handing one to her and keeping one for himself as he said, "I'm glad you have enough sense to recognize the horrible mockery this man has made of all eyeliner users in existence."

"It's definitely a tragedy." She agreed while still stifling another chuckle. The two knelt down, followed closely by Cobra, as they worked together to remove the eyeliner from Ken's eyes while debating how to reapply it. In the end, Ken had a thick line on each eyelid that ended in a dramatically flared wing.

Midnight turned the unconscious man's face back and forth as he said, "It's not quite symmetrical but I'm not sure we can do much better with this cheek so swollen." Lucy shot an accusing look at Cobra, who was still hovering near enough to touch her, before glancing back at Ken while she said, "At least it doesn't hurt to look at him anymore."

"Play time's over. You two can play dress up some other time." Cobra moved to sit down while pulling Lucy into his lap. She went along willingly as she asked, "Can we do you next?"

"Fuck no. That's what Meredy is for."

Leaning against his chest with a smile on her face, Lucy looked around to see Gray and Natsu arguing, probably as some sort of odd foreplay, and Erza returning with Jellal. The redhead said, "A squadron of knights will be here shortly to pick up the prisoner and his accomplices."

Lucy could feel Cobra's need to get away from everyone and was feeling similarly herself. "I think we're going to get out of here. I don't think I can stand to be in this castle any longer."

"Of course, Lucy. You two go ahead. We'll meet up with you in Magnolia." Erza said with a smile. The redhead approached Lucy as she stood and hugged her blonde friend tightly. Lucy returned the embrace, smiling against Erza's cold chest plate as she said, "It's good to see you too, Erza." With a rough pat to Lucy's back, the redhead released her and turned back to Jellal.

Cobra and Lucy made a quick escape from the castle before anyone else could stop them to talk. As they walked, he hardly stopped touching her. He was always resting a hand against her lower back or had an arm around her waist. When they passed the last of the mages lying motionless on the ground – Lucy made a point of not looking at any of them long enough to see if they were still alive – she finally said, "I'm not going to float away if you stop touching me."

He only grunted in response and pulled her tighter against him as they walked into the line of trees. Once they were far enough away for Cobra to feel confident no one could see or hear them, he turned Lucy around to kiss her roughly. It only took a second for the surprise to wear off and then she was returning the kiss with as much eagerness as he felt. Their hands were all over each other, touching and feeling and reassuring themselves of the other's nearness.

When Cobra's hands dipped into Lucy's shorts to find her already wet and ready, he said gruffly, "I don't think I can wait until we get back."

"I don't want to wait either." Knowing exactly what he wanted and agreeing it would be the easiest way, Lucy turned around but didn't get very far when Cobra pulled her back against his chest. His hand was still in her shorts, working her sensitive clit with his fingers. He wanted her pussy to be completely drenched by the time he was ready to slide into it. He sucked on her neck roughly, leaving marks along her skin but Lucy didn't care. She wanted to see them there.

When he finally shoved her shorts down, Lucy thought she might reach an orgasm just from the cool air against her skin. He worked his own pants open while she pushed her shorts down far enough to pull one booted foot free and then leaned forward to use her hands to brace herself against a tree. Cobra rasped, "Fuck, that's a beautiful sight," as he palmed the globes of her ass while lining himself up with her entrance. A pleasured cry escaped her as he roughly pressed his length into her center, thrusting a few times until he was fully seated. His hands slid along her back until they reached around to the front to slide beneath her athletic bra, pushing it out of the way so he could cup her full breasts. He rocked into her gently a few times as he kissed along her back lovingly, and then stood upright to grab her hips as he started fucking her at a demanding pace.

The sudden change threw Lucy into her first orgasm, making her moan loudly as she clenched around his shaft. He slapped her ass as she came, making her cry out at the pain mixed with her intense pleasure. Cobra pulled out of her suddenly but Lucy already knew what he was trying to do. When he knelt in the grass, she straddled him and immediately sank back down on him. She used both hands to pull him into a rough kiss as she rode him while he thrust wildly up into her. With his arms wrapped behind her back, she let him support her weight while she moved against him, the intensity of their love making already pushing her toward her second climax.

He used one hand to massage a breast, teasing its pebbled nipple between his thumb and forefinger. When Lucy broke the kiss to gasp, he said, "Come for me. I want to feel it again." His words and the extra stimulation sent her tumbling over the edge. Cobra held out for as long as possible, loving the way it felt to have her milking his erection with her spasming muscles. When he couldn't take any more, he let himself go, roughly pulling her hips down against his as he pressed as deeply as he could reach while he spilled his seed inside her.

Their lips met again, this time in a tender kiss full of passion and the love they shared. When their lips parted, they both wrapped their arms around each other, still seated in the same position with his softening member inside of her. Connected as they were in both body and soul, they felt like they were two parts of the same being, sharing emotions and thoughts across their connection without any effort.

As the intensity of the moment faded, Cobra quietly said, "Never again. I don't ever want to be separated from you again."

Lucy hugged his neck a little tighter as she turned to kiss his cheek before whispering, "Never again."

**X**

**XX**

**XXX**

**The end.  
Just kidding.  
There will be an epilogue because I just can't get enough.**

**Thank you so much to everyone that has encouraged me to finish this story. You're all amazing! If you've never left a review, please leave one now before you go. I'd love to hear from you!**

**I think I'll go cry now. I can't believe it's over!**


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